Alabama may have caught a huge break with kickoff time for Mississippi State trap game

While Alabama's full attention and focus are on South Carolina this week, Monday brought clarity to the kickoff time for the Crimson Tide's upcoming road trip to Starkville to face Mississippi State on October 3rd.

And it's a huge benefit to Alabama.

Facing what will be a major test against the now-24th-ranked Bulldogs, Alabama won't face nearly as rowdy a crowd as they might have otherwise encountered at Davis Wade Stadium. While the kick time is not officially set, the SEC announced on Monday that it would be at either 11 am or 11:45 am CT, kicking off on either ESPN (11), or the SEC Network (11:45):

Alabama will face a more tame environment at Mississippi State with early kickoff

Mississippi State fans are surely disappointed that this won't be an evening game. Night games always bring more raucous environments because fans have had all day to get drunk and rowdy in preparation for the matchup. There won't be as much time for that for a game that will kickoff before noon local time.

Mississippi State will represent a massive trap game for Kalen DeBoer and Alabama, coming one week before the highly anticipated matchup against Georgia at Bryant-Denny Stadium. That's a game that Alabama has undoubtedly had circled on its calendar for this season, especially after Georgia manhandled them in the SEC Championship Game last season.

But the October 3rd matchup in Starkville is a game Mississippi State players and fans have had circled. Alabama is one of State's biggest rivals, and the two are separated by only 82 miles of highway.

This will be the first meeting between Alabama and Mississippi State since 2023. Alabama currently holds a 16-game winning streak in the series, with the last Bulldogs win coming during Nick Saban's first season on campus back in 2007.

Fortunately for DeBoer, he should have an easier time getting Alabama ready for this game compared to what it looked like in the preseason. After a road win over South Carolina last week, Mississippi State is now 3-0 and moved into the AP Top 25 at No. 24. They face another ranked matchup this coming weekend before Alabama, with Missouri descending upon StarkVegas.

Led by Kamario Taylor at QB, Mississippi State will be a tough out for Alabama and will not allow for any looking ahead to Georgia. The Crimson Tide will be favored, but probably not by much. It will take the best effort of the season for Alabama to walk out of Starkville with a win.

Alabama will have to avoid the slow starts that have plagued them the last two weeks. Mississippi State won't be as forgiving as Kentucky and Florida State were.

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