No. 24 Mississippi State (5-3) was thumped by a resurgent No. 6 Alabama football (7-1) 30-6.
Compared to the cardiac-induced loss to Tennessee last week, this game paled in comparison. It was a homecoming snoozefest as Alabama football controlled the game in standard Crimson Tide fashion. With four defensive contributors out, the Crimson Tide defense did not miss a beat shutting out the Air Raid offense.
Commandeering the offense, Bryce Young took imperturbable to another level in the first half. He took his time and dissected the State defense for two dazzling touchdowns.
After the game, Alabama football head coach Saban remarked on the team’s play,
"“I was really pleased with the way our guys competed in the game tonight. I challenged them in terms of how they were going to respond. Respond with your ability, your positive energy, attitude, how you block, how you tackle, the enthusiasm that you play with. I was pleased with the way the guys went out and competed, had fun. There wasn’t a lot of anxiety."
Alabama needed the win after last week’s debacle, but it was not impressive. With two challenging road games, the Crimson Tide grabs some much-needed rest. Since the Crimson Tide controls its destiny, the month of November is key to a successful College Football playoff run.
Here are the Alabama football studs and duds from the game.
Alabama Football Studs
Eli Ricks
Following the horrendous defensive performance last week, distraught fans wondered if Eli Ricks would ever make an impact at Alabama. As a result, Saban finally decided to replace Terrion Arnold by placing the junior in the starting lineup. Knocking down a pass on the game’s first play, Ricks allowed fans to exhale. Completing the game with four pass breakups, he was precisely what the defense needed.
Locking down his side of the field all night, the former LSU All-American’s unyielding, consistent play is key for the defense to return to its dominant self.
Will Anderson and DeMarcco Hellams
Inciting chaos and making quarterbacks uncomfortable remains Anderson’s forte. His iconic, relentless pursuit of State quarterback Will Rogers is legendary, as the terrifying linebacker accumulated seven QB pressures and one sack.
Facing abysmal scrutiny for his performance against Tennessee, a motivated Hellams rebounded significantly as he finished second on the team in tackles with 12, including several key stops.
Penalties
Succeeding a week of 17 penalties, the Crimson Tide showed the discipline needed to bounce back from the last weekend’s abysmal performance with only three penalties for 20 yards.
Alabama Football Duds
Second half offense
Once halftime ended, the offense remained in the locker room. The stale playcalling and sense of urgency waned. In two weeks, the offense needed work in preparation for an upset-ready LSU in Death Valley.
During his postgame press conference, coach Saban reflected on the offense,
"We didn’t play very well with any consistency on offense, and that starts with what I said before. We couldn’t run the ball very well. It affects play-action passes. I thought we had some RPO throws that we should have taken that we didn’t take, and we missed a couple. I think Bryce played really well in the game, but I think to get him back 100 percent will really help. And I think if he can practice some at some point in time before we get ready for our next game, that’ll probably help him as well.”"
The offense has become too dependent on Bryce Young. Other playmakers need to step up. Therefore, offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien’s critics are growing louder every game.
I really just don’t understand how people watch Bill O’Brien call plays and say “yep, he’s absolutely perfect,” but there are tons of people that do. No idea how.
— Sidelines - Bama (@SSN_Alabama) October 23, 2022
Running game
As electric as Jahymr Gibbs has been the past two weeks, Mississippi State held Alabama football to a measly 29 yards on the ground. Gibbs only rushed for 37 yards. His backups, Jase McClellan and Roydell Williams provided 16 yards on 12 carries. This facet of the offense needs to get better as the games move into November.
Alabama football has a bye week and returns to a matchup with a hot LSU Tigers squad.