TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The No. 6/6 Alabama football team limited No. 24/24 Mississippi State to its fewest points of the season on the way to a 30-6 victory Saturday night in front of a sold-out Bryant-Denny Stadium on Homecoming.

 

The Crimson Tide defense totaled 15 pass breakups, six tackles for loss and four sacks. Linebacker Henry To’oTo’o led the defensive unit with a team-high 13 tackles, while defensive back DeMarcco Hellams ended with 12 tackles and two pass breakups. Corners KoolAid McKinstry and Eli Ricks tied for the team lead with four pass breakups apiece on the night.

 

Offensively, quarterback Bryce Young finished 21-of-35, connecting with 11 different receivers to account for the 249 yards and two touchdowns through the air. Wide receiver Ja’Corey Brooks had a team-high 74 receiving yards while JoJo Earle and Traeshon Holden each caught touchdowns. Running back Jahmyr Gibbs paced the Tide in rushing yards (10 for 37) and total receptions (four for 33).

 

Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban Said

“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 and attitude, how you block, how you tackle, the enthusiasm that you play with. I was pleased with the way the guys competed and had fun. There wasn’t a lot of anxiety. There wasn’t always perfect execution – but to me, that’s a start. It is kind of time to answer the bell and now the challenge is to build on that. We’ve got a bye week coming up, we’ve got a lot of guys that we need to try to get healthy and I think we’ll get some guys back. I think the number one thing is we want to build on the chemistry of how we competed in the game today. The defense played well, other than that last drive. We should be able to take the air out of the ball on offense. We couldn’t run the ball very well tonight and that’s something we definitely need to improve on. Hopefully Bryce (Young) getting a week off here will really help him get back healthy. The guys had a good week of preparation and they went out and played a good game. I’m really pleased and proud of them.”

 

Notes

  • With its 30-6 victory Saturday night, Alabama has now outscored Mississippi State (146-9) in the last four Tuscaloosa-based games against Bulldogs
  • Dating back to 2008, Alabama improves its record to 9-0 in games played following a regular-season loss
  • With Saturday night’s win marking Alabama’s 15th consecutive win over Mississippi State dating back to 2007
  • The victory over the Bulldogs extended Alabama’s winning streak in Homecoming Games to 19, with UA’s last Homecoming Game loss coming on Nov. 3, 2001 to LSU, 35-21
  • Will Reichard’s 50-yard field goal in the second quarter was his fifth from 50 yards or better of his UA career and third of the season (made a 50-yarder vs. Texas A&M on Oct. 8 and a 52-yarder at Texas on Sept. 10)
  • With the win, head coach Nick Saban remains unbeaten at home during the month of October while at Alabama, improving to 31-0 in all-time October games in Tuscaloosa with the victory over Mississippi State.
  • The crowd of 100,077 was the second sellout in Bryant-Denny Stadium this season (Texas A&M)

 

How It Happened

FIRST QUARTER

  • 03:47 – UA | The Tide opened the scoring when Bryce Young scrambled to avoid pressure, eventually finding JoJo Earle from 31-yards out in the back of the end zone to cap a six-play, 85-yard drive that lasted 2:18

 

SECOND QUARTER

  • 11:38 – UA | Jahmyr Gibbs found a hole and took it 19 yards to paydirt to finish off a 74-yard drive that took just three plays and 1:43 off the clock
  • 08:19 – UA | Traeshon Holden was on the receiving end of a six-yard pass from Young that capped a four-play, 29-yard drive that lasted 1:44
  • 02:54 – UA | Will Reichard converted a 50-yard field goal to finish a 10-play, 56-yard drive that took 4:25 off the game clock

 

THIRD QUARTER

  • No Scoring

 

FOURTH QUARTER

  • 14:49 – UA | Reichard finished off a six-play drive when he made a 33-yard field goal
  • 09:21 – UA | Reichard’s 38-yard field goal capped a nine-play drive that went 52 yards and took 4:03 off the clock

 

Up Next

  • The Crimson Tide has a bye week and will next compete at LSU on Saturday, Nov. 5