Spruce Derden-US PRESSWIRE
The Alabama Crimson Tide are just one day away from their toughest test to date of the 2012 season as the undefeated and 11th ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs invade Tuscaloosa looking to prove themselves as a legitimate contender.
We already broke down the Mississippi State offense, and now we move on to the Bulldogs defense.
Mississippi State enters this game ranked highly in most statistical categories on defense. They bring in a Top-25 overall defense, and rank 9th in the country in points per game allowed, giving up just over 14 points per contest.
That number is a little inflated due to the Bulldogs giving up 32 points in four games against Jackson State, Auburn, South Alabama and Middle Tennessee State. They allowed Troy to score 24 points, and gave up 31 to Tennessee.
Overall, Mississippi State’s defense looks strong on paper, but they have had struggles stopping the run this year. They are giving up 139 yards per game on the ground, which puts them at 47th in the nation.
The biggest reason for Mississippi State taking a step back against the run this year is due to the loss of Fletcher Cox at defensive tackle. Senior Josh Boyd and sophomore Curtis Virges have been serviceable, but they haven’t made the same kind of impact as Cox.
Junior Denico Autry is the leader of the defensive end rotation and he is joined in the starting lineup by sophomore Kaleb Eulls. The Bulldogs have not been able to get a consistent pass rush, but luckily that has been masked by their standout secondary. Backup defensive end Preston Smith leads the team with 3.5 sacks on the year.
At linebacker, redshirt freshman Benardrick McKinney mans the middle and leads the team with 55 tackles. McKinney is an impressive physical specimen at 6-foot-5 and 235 pounds. Senior Cameron Lawrence and junior Deonta Skinner are the other starters.
It will be interesting to see how Mississippi State’s front seven fares against Alabama’s running game. By all means, that is probably the key to victory for both sides. Alabama doesn’t want to have to rely on the pass all that much against the Bulldogs’ stingy secondary, so they will try to impose their will on the ground with Eddie Lacy and T.J. Yeldon.
If the offensive line plays like it has in recent weeks, then the Crimson Tide should find success on the ground Saturday night. If Alabama is successful running the football, then they should win this game without too much of a fuss if they don’t turn the ball over.
The biggest concern for the Alabama offense will be throwing the ball against Mississippi State’s talented secondary. The Bulldogs boast one of top secondaries in all of college football, and have made it a habit of intercepting passes.
The Bulldogs have 12 interceptions in 7 games, and are averaging over 25 yards per interception return. Their secondary is led by quite possibly the best cornerback in the nation in Johnthan Banks.
Banks has been spectacular in 2012 with 4 interceptions and by all means looks like a first round draft pick come April. Opposite Banks is senior Darius Slay who also has 4 interceptions on the year.
AJ McCarron hasn’t been picked off this year, but he hasn’t faced a secondary like Mississippi State’s. The Bulldogs also shut down Tennessee’s passing attack just like Alabama did last week. They present a sizable challenge for McCarron and the wide receivers.
Senior Corey Broomfield and junior Nickoe Whitley are the starting safeties. If in any case Mississippi State’s cornerbacks actually do get beat, Broomfield and Whitley are there to clean it up, with Whitley in particular being a heavy hitter.
It seems like the gameplan for the Alabama offense will be to control the line of scrimmage and hammer the ball down Mississippi State’s throat with Lacy and Yeldon, and try to pass the ball as little as possible against that opportunistic secondary. Of course, the coaching staff does have a lot of faith in AJ McCarron, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him come out throwing much like he did in the BCS Title game last year.
The key to victory for Alabama will be not turning the ball over, and winning the battle in the trenches. If they accomplish those goals, then the Crimson Tide should walk out of Bryant-Denny Stadium with their perfect season intact as they gear up for next Saturday’s matchup with LSU.
Mississippi State presents the toughest challenge to date for Alabama, but the Tide should roll as long as they play up to their capability.
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