With a 60,000-plus crowd at Davis Wade Stadium and plenty of anticipation in the building for Mississippi State’s first game against Alabama since 2023, the No. 7 Crimson Tide won nearly every statistical battle against the No. 16 Bulldogs and came away with a 56-23 win on Saturday afternoon.
Alabama (5-0, 3-0 SEC) held Mississippi State’s (4-1, 2-1) running game to just 18 yards, while the Bulldogs’ top running back, Fluff Bothwell, exited the game after the first series.
While Mississippi State kept it mostly close and trailed 28-17 at halftime, Alabama put on a clinic in the second half, scoring 28 points to the Bulldogs’ six. Southern Miss alum and Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack’s defense finished with five sacks, nine tackles for loss, two interceptions, and two forced fumbles.
Here’s how the entire game played out in Starkville.
Scoring summary
Mississippi State opened the game with a drive to midfield before quarterback Kamario Taylor was strip-sacked for a 9-yard loss by Jackson native London Simmons, who recovered the ball with 13:11 remaining in the first quarter.
Alabama immediately turned the turnover into points, scoring on a six-play drive when quarterback Keelon Russell found Ryan Coleman-Williams for a 15-yard touchdown with 9:41 left in the first quarter to give the Crimson Tide a 7-0 lead.
On the next offensive possession for Mississippi State, Taylor was intercepted by Dijon Lee Jr., who returned the pick 30 yards for a touchdown and a 14-0 Alabama lead.
Mississippi State settled down, with Taylor connecting with Anthony Evans III for a 2-yard touchdown to cut the deficit to 14-7. That remained the score at the end of the first quarter.
Alabama opened the second quarter with an eight-play drive that ended with a 17-yard touchdown run by Russell, extending the lead to 21-7.
A strange series of events then ensued.
After Simmons got in on another sack, the Bulldogs punted, but the return was fumbled and recovered by Mississippi State. On the next play, wide receiver Sanfrisco Magee fumbled in the red zone after being hit by Ocean Springs native Bray Hubbard and Alabama recovered.
The Crimson Tide then gave the ball right back when Meridian native and Alabama running back Daniel Hill fumbled, allowing the Bulldogs to regain possession. Taylor capitalized, finding wide receiver Zion Ragins for an 11-yard touchdown with 9:09 left in the half to cut the deficit to 21-14.
That was as close as Mississippi State would get for the rest of the game.
As they did throughout, the Crimson Tide marched down the field, scoring on a seven-play drive that ended with freshman running back Trae’Shawn Brown scoring on an 8-yard run.
Mississippi State responded with an 11-play drive to close the half, with penalties and miscommunication forcing the Bulldogs to settle for a 32-yard field goal by Kyle Ferrie.
Coming out of the locker room, Alabama drove down the field in seven plays before Russell found Rico Scott for a 13-yard touchdown reception.
The Bulldogs didn’t get through a full series before Taylor threw his second interception, this one to Alabama defender Caleb Woodson in the red zone. Alabama capitalized again, with Brown scoring on another touchdown run to extend the lead to 42-17.
Attempting to hang on, the Bulldogs scored their final touchdown on a fourth-down play when Taylor found Evans for a 45-yard touchdown. Mississippi State failed on the ensuing 2-point conversion, ending the third quarter down 42-23.
After another 11-play Alabama drive, Russell found Scott again, this time on an 8-yard slant for a touchdown and a 49-23 lead.
Mississippi State then pulled Taylor because of an apparent injury, effectively conceding the game. The Crimson Tide scored once more when backup quarterback Austin Mack ran for a 3-yard touchdown, making the final score 56-23.
What the coach said
Mississippi State head coach Jeff Lebby was obviously disappointed with the performance but emphasized the need for his team to recover heading into a bye week and with more than half the regular season remaining.
“Yeah, we’re going to have to get healthy,” Lebby said. “We need the ability to get healthy. That’s what this next week is about.”
Regarding the turnovers, which cost the Bulldogs opportunities throughout the game, Lebby said, “I think I got asked before the game, ‘What’s the key to victory?’ and I said to take care of the ball. That put us in a bad place.”
On Taylor’s health status, Lebby said the star quarterback will be “day-to-day” with the injury report ahead of the team’s Oct. 17 game against LSU “speak to where we’re at.”
Numbers never lie
Taylor led the Bulldogs’ offense with 258 passing yards and three touchdowns, but two interception and a lost fumble proved costly. Mississippi State had 30 rushing attempts as a team but only managed 18 yards – an average gain of 0.6 per carry.
Evans caught 12 passes for 166 yards and two touchdowns but was the only Bulldog wideout who showed consistency against the Crimson Tide.
Despite allowing 56 points, the Bulldogs recorded four sacks and recovered two fumbles.
Russell outplayed the Mississippi State defense, completing 16 of 22 passes for 285 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran the ball five times for 16 yards and a touchdown.
Defensively for Alabama, Mississippi natives Hubbard and Simmons combined for eight tackles, two forced fumbles, and 1.5 sacks.
Next up
Mississippi State: The Bulldogs will have a bye week before traveling to Baton Rouge to play LSU on Saturday, Oct. 17. A game time has not been announced.
Alabama: The Crimson Tide will host No. 2 Georgia on Saturday, Oct. 10, at 6:30 p.m.