Alabama vs. Mississippi State Predictions And LSU rewind
Nov 9, 2013; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; LSU Tigers tight end Dillon Gordon (85) catches a tipped ball by Alabama Crimson Tide linebacker C.J. Mosley (32) during the third quarter at Bryant-Denny Stadium. John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
What a win for the Alabama Crimson Tide last weekend. The Crimson Tide’s 21-point victory matched their largest win against LSU since 2002, and for all the talk from certain LSU defensive linemen about Alabama being weak and not being able to handle the physicality of LSU, Alabama’s offensive line dominated LSU until the Tigers wanted no more.
In looking back at our predictions, we managed to nail all of them. It was a close game at the beginning, with Alabama landing the knockout punch in the second half. T.J. Yeldon finished with over 130 yards of offense, while Kenyan Drake finished with 75 yards of offense.
For LSU, Jeremy Hill was bottled up virtually all night and finished with only 42 yards rushing while LSU managed only 43 yards as a team, and C.J. Moseley had a monstrous game, finishing with 12 tackles and two pass breakups. To top it off, Imari J. Pharris nailed the final score by predicting Alabama would win 38-17. Let’s see if we can do it again this week:
Mississippi State averages 459 yards of offense a game. Alabama gives up only 281 yards a game. A loss here puts Mississippi State in a dangerous position of having to beat Arkansas and Ole Miss to end the season bowl eligible. Does the Bulldogs offense shock the Crimson Tide and gain more than 300 yards total?
I’ll say no. Last year, Alabama came into the Texas A&M game after a hard fought, physical battle with LSU and it seemed as if Alabama was worn out early on against the Aggies. This year, it looked as if Alabama did most of the bullying around on Saturday night so I’d expect Mississippi State to have some success late but it will be too late for the Bulldogs.
Make it 4 games in a row with at least 1 running back gaining over 100 yards of total offense and 3/4 in which at least 2 Crimson Tide RB’s have had at least 100 yards of total offense. Will the Crimson Tide have 2 running backs with over 100 yards of offense Saturday night?
Yes. Mississippi State has given up an average of 372 yards a game on defense, and that could spell big trouble for a Bulldog team that has been physically beaten up two weeks in a row by ranked teams. This game sets up perfectly for TJ Yeldon to hit the century mark early and for Kenyan Drake to take over the load in the second half.
The average score against the Bulldogs in Nick Sabans tenure has been 27-8.5 in Alabam’s favor, with the Tide going 5-1 against the Bulldogs. Do the Crimson Tide win by more than 19 points on Saturday night?
Yes. I’ll give you an exact score later but I can see a 35 point win for the Tide this week.
Who will be this weeks defensive hero?
Let’s roll with the hot hand. CJ Moseley is feeling it. And he’s going to keep sniffing out the ball on Saturday night.
Final Score?
45-10 Alabama