Instant Analysis: Alabama looks like title threat, crushes Mississippi St.

This was also the first game of his career in which Prescott did not throw or run for a touchdown. It’s beginning to look like the Crimson Tide won’t again this year.

Mississippi State Bulldogs freshman safety Jamal Peters will honor his fallen teammate by wearing his jersey during Saturday’s game against the No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide.

This was the toughest game of the year to grade for Mississippi State, but I’ll try to figure out an appropriate score for offense, defense, special teams and coaching…. “They just beat a few guys up there and we didn’t do a great job protecting the quarterback”. Before his long return the Tide averaged less than 10 return yards per punt, but headed into a game against Charleston Southern, Alabama averages 11.52 yards.

Derrick Henry ran for 204 yards and two touchdowns.

Just over three minutes later, Henry joined the fun, breaking through a hole for a 74-yard touchdown to continue the big-play trend.

Mississippi State led in passing and third down conversions but failed to get in the end zone for the first time since a season-opening loss to Oklahoma State in 2013. Even on the touchdown, Calvin Ridley took a short Coker pass and turned into a 60-yard score.

There was nothing fancy about the second one. Henry followed suit as he got the ball across the goal line with two huge runs and solid work otherwise, as well. Saturday, the SEC’s best quarterback, Dak Prescott, gave it his best shot and got crushed (nine sacks vs. just six points). “Game planning more so than anything – watching tendencies of their defensive backs, putting a clock in my head of when to get the ball out and getting our team the best looks on certain plays with the defenses they give us”.

“They didn’t want to sit and play safe defense”, senior center Ryan Kelly said. You can’t do that and expect to win. The victory came in 2013 after Mississippi State lost to Alabama. The Crimson Tide piled up nine sacks and limited Mississippi State to 66 rushing yards on 36 carries. Ross meantime led team receiving.

No player had rushed for 200 yards against Mississippi State since Alabama’s Kenneth Darby did it in 2004.

Kamara, a junior college transfer who originally signed with Alabama, finished with 127 yards on 15 carries. Alabama’s goal-line stand set the tone for the rest of the game, as the talented and deep defensive front controlled the line of scrimmage against an overmatched MSU offensive line. The Tide’s Jonathan Allen had a team-high three sacks while A’Shawn Robinson added 2½.

As chaos unfolded around the country-Clemson trying to revive its old nickname in Syracuse, Oklahoma State floundering in Ames, Iowa, and MI sputtering in Bloomington, Ind.-a road win over a top 20 team in a raucous environment further pads Alabama’s résumé, which also includes victories against Wisconsin, Georgia, Arkansas, Texas A&M and LSU.