The Alabama Crimson Tide knocked off the No. 1 team in the nation with a hard-fought win over Dak Prescott and the Mississippi State Bulldogs from Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, AL
Alabama extended their winning streak to seven games over Mississippi State as Blake Sims, Amari Cooper and the Crimson Tide defense defeated the No. 1 Mississippi State Bulldogs by the score of 25-13 and now control their destiny in the SEC.
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The game got off to an inauspicious start for the Bulldogs who came into the game as a heavy underdog despite their No. 1 ranking when Josh Robinson was tackled in the end zone for a safety after JK Scott pinned the Bulldogs at the MSST 4.
On the ensuing possession, Alabama would tack on a 36-yard field goal after Derrick Henry and T.J. Yeldon ran for a combined 30 yards on seven carries to give Alabama a 5-0 lead that stood at the end of the first quarter.
Dak Prescott entered the game in need of a monster performance to leave Tuscaloosa with the win and in pole position for the Heisman Trophy, but he had his worst game of the year. Prescott threw his first interception of the day in the opening moments of the second quarter with the Bulldogs driving in Alabama territory. Nick Perry picked him off at the ALA 23 in a sign of things to come for Prescott.
Maroon and White Nation
After the two teams traded punts, Sims connected with Amari Cooper for a four-yard touchdown to give Alabama a 12-0 lead at the 7:45 mark of the quarter and following a three-and-out by Prescott and the Bulldogs, Sims hit Cooper for a 50-yard gain on their first play of the drive to get Alabama to the MSST 1 where Derrick Henry punched it on one play later.
Mississippi State would counter with a 14-play drive to close the first half with Prescott finally finding some success in the passing game, but after getting to the AL 1, a false start penalty pushed them back where three incomplete passes later left the Bulldogs settling for a field goal to make it 19-3 at halftime.
The inability to get seven points on this drive carries over into the second half where Mississippi State had a 67-yard drive and Prescott looked as good as he would all day, but the drive stalled and again had to settle for three points as they now trialed 19-6.
Mississippi State had an opportunity to take momentum away from the home team after Adam Griffith missed a 37-yard field goal when Prescott was able to get the Bulldogs in position to cut it to a one-score game after connecting with Robinson and De’Runnya Wilson, but Prescott threw a killer interception to Cyrus Jones in the end zone.
Bama Hammer
While the offense continued to shoot themselves in the foot against an Alabama defense that made huge plays when they needed, the Mississippi State defense gave Prescott opportunities to get back in the game and that’s what happened at the beginning of the fourth quarter when Prescott hit Fred Ross from four yards out for their first touchdown of the day and made it a 19-13 game.
What followed next showed the championship mettle of Alabama when T.J. Yeldon capped a 15-play drive that took 6:07 off the clock when he ran in for the seven-yard touchdown and took a 25-13 lead. On the ensuing possession, Landon Collins intercepted the pass from Prescott, his first three-interception game of the year, at the ALA 20, and all but clinched this win for the Tide.
Mississippi State didn’t die easily as Prescott found Jameon Lewis for the four-yard touchdown with 15 seconds remaining, but after failing to recover the onside kick they suffered their first loss of the season as the Crimson Tide controls their fate in the SEC and Mississippi State will need to see if their resume is good enough to remain in the top four of the College Football Playoff rankings.
Sims finished with 211 yards and a touchdown and for the second week in a row was calm in the face of pressure meanwhile, Prescott finished with 290 yards passing with two touchdowns and three back-breaking interceptions while rushing for 82 yards in the loss that sees his Heisman chances take a considerable hit.
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