TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — On a cold Saturday afternoon in Bryant-Denny Stadium, the No. 1 ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs fell to the lesser-ranked but superiorly-talented Alabama Crimson Tide.
In its 25-20 victory, Alabama started strong with a dominant first half on both sides of the ball, but it was the Tide’s defense that stood out as the night went on.
The D set the tone early, forcing a safety for the first points of the game, and it only really allowed 13 points on the night, considering the final MSU touchdown came with 15 seconds left in the game and was largely irrelevant.
They swarmed Miss. State’s players with gang tackles and confused them with coverages, and successfully slowed down Prescott, who was exactly the kind of dual-threat quarterback that has given Tide trouble in recent years.
“We tried to set the tone any down we could with a big hit, with a big sack, third down stop,” Alabama safety Landon Collins said. “We just showed that we’re flying to the ball, and we’re going to be a dominant defense for all four quarters.”
Alabama’s three interceptions were all drive-killers for the Bulldogs. Cornerback Cyrus Jones intercepted Prescott in the end zone in the third quarter; Collins had a diving pick on the Alabama 15-yard line; and Nick Perry’s pick came on the Crimson Tide 22-yard line. Without those big plays deep in Tide territory, it’s easy to imagine the game ending with a different outcome.
“We had to get our offense back the ball and make key turnovers,” Collins said. “When we get the ball out of their hands, it’s less time they can score and that’s what we did today.”
Unfortunately, each of the momentum-shifting interceptions was followed by a three-and-out from the Alabama offense, which had an up-and-down night.
Wide receiver Amari Cooper had a solid game with 88 yards and a touchdown, and surpassed 3,000 receiving yards all-time at Alabama. Running back T.J. Yeldon was clearly still recovering from last week’s injury, but still finished with a respectable 72 yards rushing and a touchdown. Quarterback Blake Sims was 19-31 passing with 211 yards and one passing touchdown.
The offense has yet to return to the output it had against Florida or Texas A&M. Miss. State ran a staggering 88 plays as a direct result of the ineffective Alabama offensive attack. The Bulldog’s 31 minutes of possession eventually tired out Alabama’s defense and led to points, although the Bulldogs could never take the lead.
But when it mattered, the offense did what it had to do — just like it did last week against LSU.
Up 19-13, Alabama took the ball 76 yards in 15 plays to effectively put the game away. The offense that had been 2 of 11 on third down up to that point suddenly went 3-for-3, mostly thanks to Sims’ ability to stretch the drive with two critical first down runs. It was a crushing, time-consuming drive — one that Alabama head coach Nick Saban called “one of the greatest drives in Alabama history.”
“We made big-time plays at the right time and the guys fought hard,” Sims said. “The defense made a great stand for us to have that drive.”
Saban heaped praise on his quarterback after the game, saying he trusts Sims’ instincts, especially when the game is on the line.
“Our issues today on offense didn’t have anything to do with Blake,” Saban said. “Blake played a really good game, I thought. We just didn’t have it blocked like we needed to a couple times and we dropped a few balls that we normally would catch, so we need to clean those things up so we can be a little more consistent.”
Although Alabama under Nick Saban has still not scored a first quarter touchdown in the week after playing LSU, there did not appear to be any hangover after last weekend’s slugfest with the Bayou Bengals. Alabama’s players were bouncing on the sidelines throughout the game, waving their arms and asking for more noise from the sellout crowd. When this team hits its stride and starts really having fun, it is something to behold.
After Saban finished taking questions in his postgame press conference, he specifically credited the fans for the team’s performance and thanked them.
“The atmosphere that we had in the stadium tonight, that’s really what college football is all about,” Saban said. “I know it had a huge impact on our players. The energy and enthusiasm certainly translated in the way that we played against a very good team.”
With its final two regular season games at home, Alabama is now in the driver’s seat for the College Football Playoff.
“We have tough games coming up,” Saban said. “We’re just like being in the playoffs now. Can’t afford to lose, so every game’s a big game.”
Pretty much sums it up… #RollTide pic.twitter.com/MxOOdb9KzE
— Cliff Sims (@Cliff_Sims) November 16, 2014
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