You hold a great back like Derrick Henry to, basically, 140 yards on two of his carries.
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Second-ranked Alabama (9-1, 6-1 SEC) used big plays to defeat No. 17 Mississippi State (7-3, 3-3) 31-6 on Saturday at Davis Wade Stadium. Saban talked about the challenge in stopping quarterback Dak Prescott and what Dan Mullen does well for the Bulldogs. Alabama had driven the length of the field, and threatened to score, when the improbable happened: an Alabama fumble that secured arguably the biggest victory in MSU history. Prescott led the offense to the Alabama 7-yard line, but a false start pushed the ball back five yards, and Alabama’s defense converged on second and third down for sacks eight and nine of the game.
Get ready fro the Alabama vs Mississippi State game live today on CBS Sports. QB Dak Prescott and the Bulldogs are in the midst of a four game winning streak but are now facing their toughest test of the season, though they do have home field advantage.
In the other 52 snaps that didn’t end in touchdowns, Alabama gained 3.4 yards per play. Mississippi State, meanwhile, is dead last in athletic revenue in the conference, and the results have shown for the cash-strapped program, with just one divisional title in the modern era and just one SEC championship – the aberrant 1941 season.
The root of that comes from Alabama’s menacing, suffocating and harassing defensive front.
The Bulldogs were the No. 1 team in the nation last season when they fell 25-20 to the Tide in Tuscaloosa. Prior to the contest, the quarterback had never been sacked more than three times in a single game for his career.
Defensive lineman Jonathan Allen had seven tackles, three sacks, an additional quarterback hurry and a forced fumble. Peyton Manning’s best season as far as completion percentage was 64.2% during his sophomore season, while Prescott is completing passes at a 66.7% clip this season.
Henry added a 65-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Every time we rushed more than four and played man-to-man, he got rid of the ball and he made a couple of big plays. Alabama jumped to a 5-0 lead in the first quarter, while fans across the country rubbed their eyes to make sure they weren’t accidentally looking at a baseball box score. Fred Ross has 51 catches for 548 yards and 2 touchdowns. The next one went 74 yards untouched, with the usual breathtaking speed for a 242-pound tailback. They had 379 yards and 200 of them were on three plays. Senior quarterback Jake Coker appeared to connect with freshman wide receiver Calvin Ridley for a first down, but Ridley dropped the pass.
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The Bulldogs failed to capitalize on the long pass play, only picking up one yard before bringing out kicker Westin Graves for a 50-yard attempt.
