Bulldogs earned respect, but Crimson Tide took home the W-sds
One team was looking for respect, while the other was focused on the win. The strange this is, both may have gotten exactly that.
When the University of Alabama football team hosted No. 1 Mississippi State on Saturday night, it was one of those games in which none of the numbers mattered except for the final 25-20 score.
Granted, the Bulldogs made a game of it, and actually outgained the Crimson Tide 428-335, but never had the lead while squandering opportunity after opportunity.
MSU quarterback Dak Prescott accounted for 370 total yards, 290 passing and 82 rushing, but probably lost any chance of wining the Heisman Trophy.
Why? Because he hardly had any big plays, averaged 3.7 yards per carry and his longest completion being just 30 yards. Heisman winners have signature performance and play well in big games. They don’t have three interceptions, including two in the red zone.
What’s more, you can’t have turnovers and expect to beat Alabama, ask both Tim Tebow and Johnny Manziel. The first time both faced the Crimson Tide, and won, they had no turnovers. The second time they did, and lost.
Those were against different Crimson Tide defenses, but there’s a reason why Alabama is 17-5 against top-10 opponents under Nick Saban.
“Our guys want to be the best,” senior quarterback Blake Sims said. “They fought hard and played great.”
Although No. 5 Alabama had to deal with the LSU hangover – which is a very real thing — and saw the streak of failing to score a first-quarter touchdown against the subsequent opponent reach 13 years, the Crimson Tide still treated the first quarter like it was a street fight.
Make that a street fight in which Alabama had a 2×4 and wasn’t afraid to swing.
Punter JK Scott pinned the Bulldogs down at the own 5 and BAM, Trey DePriest and Dalvin Tomlinson dropped Josh Robinson in the end zone for a safety.
Senior safety Nick Perry notched his first interception of the season and BAM, Lane Kiffin dialed up fullback Jalston Fowler with a pass over the middle for 35 yards to set up an Amari Cooper touchdown when State tried to over him one-on-one at the 4.
The Bulldogs went three-and-out for the fourth time and BAM, Sims threw deep to Cooper for a 50-yard reception with running back Derrick Henry getting into the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown before losing the ball.
The No. 1 team in the nation was down 19-0 at that point, with 5:32 until halftime, and Prescott had done nothing.
“We had to make him pay every time he ran the ball,” defensive end Jonathan Allen. “As a whole unit I thought we completed our goal.”
Then when push came to shove in the second half, and Mississippi State was moving the ball against a tired Alabama defense, Sims led the crucial touchdown drive that held up. Twice on third-and-long he ran for a first down, with running back T.J. Yeldon capping the 15-play drive with a 7-yard touchdown run.
“It was one of the greatest drives in Alabama history, probably,” said Saban, who had heard for weeks that the Crimson Tide didn’t have a big win this season.
But there’s a difference between rising to No. 1 and playing championship football. Alabama understood that and Mississippi State got a valuable lesson in it.
Championship football doesn’t include two turnovers in the red zone, taking a safety on a second-down carry at the 5, or settling for field goals when desperately trying to turn the momentum.
It’s making key third-down plays and knowing that at a certain point the clock may be more important than yards or points. It’s about finding a way to win.
Despite the loss and Prescott saying: “Yeah, we had them,” Mississippi State likely got the respect it craved. When the next rankings come out Tuesday it could very easily still be in the top four, and a win over Ole Miss in two weeks would go a long way in securing a playoff spot.
Meanwhile, Alabama is right where it wants to be, with its SEC West and national championship destiny in its own hands, while knowing that any sort of a slip up might mean a bowl game instead of the semifinals.
“It’s a big win,” Cooper said. “We have play each and every game like it’s a playoff.”
Should it win out, Alabama (9-1, 6-1 SEC) could be the host team at the Sugar Bowl for the semifinals – easy driving distance for fans. Don’t be surprised, though, if the opponent ends up being Mississippi State (9-1, 5-1).