Mississippi State vs Alabama: Bulldogs Overwhelmed by Crimson Tide

Coming off a week where the Bulldogs had upset the fourth ranked team in the nation, Mississippi State was hoping to carry momentum down the stretch of the season to close out November. Unfortunately, MSU had to go through Alabama.

Nick Fitzgerald and the offense took quite a beating from the vaunted Crimson Tide defense. The running attack didn’t have enough space to run with every attempt at an option run being sniffed out. And any time that Fitzgerald dropped back to pass, it wasn’t long before a linebacker or defensive end was bearing down on him.

Unfortunately, the defense struggled just as mightily as MSU’s offense. Jalen Hurts threw for 347 yards and ran for 100 more on the ground while totaling 5 touchdowns. Hurts wasn’t the only guy that was successful running for Alabama, the Tide totaled 221 yards on the ground yesterday.

The trip to Tuscaloosa was less than ideal, but Mississippi State can still make it to a bowl game. Closing out the season against Arkansas and Ole Miss isn’t going to make things easy for Dan Mullen and the team, but both upcoming opponents have had moments of weakness and are prone to giving up large chunks of yardage on the ground.

Like three years ago, Mississippi State’s back is against the wall if the Bulldogs hope to go bowling. Two winnable games, though both will be difficult, are up ahead. Within the span of two weeks we have seen this team look both incredibly brilliant and utterly incompetent against highly ranked teams. These last two weeks will give the Bulldogs a chance to end the season on a high note and carry momentum into next season.