The Crimson Tide and Bulldogs are set for a 6 p.m. CT kickoff on ESPN this Saturday
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The University of Alabama football team put in two more hours of work on Wednesday afternoon in preparation for this Saturday’s top-20 matchup with the No. 16 Mississippi State Bulldogs, practicing in full pads at the Hank Crisp Indoor Facility.
The team continued to work on a gameplan to stop a Bulldog ground attack that ranks near the top of the conference, averaging 233.2 rush yards per game. Not to be overlooked is State’s defensive front, which is key in helping the MSU defense rank third in the SEC in rush defense. The two border rivals are scheduled for a 6 p.m. CT kickoff at Davis Wade Stadium. The game will air live on ESPN with the trio of Dave Pasch, Greg McElroy and Tom Luginbill calling all the action.
Alabama and Mississippi State will meet for the 102nd time in a series that dates back to 1896. The Crimson Tide holds the all-time advantage, 81-17-3 (79-18-3 after vacations and forfeits), and won last year’s meeting, 51-3, in Tuscaloosa. The Tide has played more games against Mississippi State than any other opponent and the series is the fifth-oldest in UA history.
The Crimson Tide has won the previous nine meetings between the two schools, including a 31-6 victory in the Tide’s last visit to Starkville in 2015. In that contest, UA was held scoreless until the 10:44 mark of the second quarter when Cyrus Jones returned a punt 69 yards for Alabama’s first points of the day. The Tide would go on to score on a 60-yard pass from Jake Coker to Calvin Ridley, along with a pair of touchdown rushes from Derrick Henry and a field goal from Adam Griffith for the win.
