Bryce Young threw two touchdown passes, Alabama’s defense was dominant and the No. 6 Crimson Tide rebounded from their first loss with a 30-6 pounding of No. 24 Mississippi State on Saturday night in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Young completed 21 of 35 passes for 249 yards, with scoring tosses to JoJo Earle and Traeshon Holden. Jahmyr Gibbs ran for a score for Alabama (7-1, 4-1 Southeastern Conference).
The defense bounced back after allowing 52 points and 567 yards last week to Tennessee by grounding the visitors’ “Air Raid” offense, allowing 293 total yards and a 1-yard touchdown run by Jo’quavious Marks on the game’s final play.
Mississippi State’s Will Rogers, who has five starts this season that produced at least 313 passing yards, went 30 of 60 for 231 yards but had trouble moving into the red zone.
The victory was the Crimson Tide’s 15th consecutive win over Mississippi State (5-3, 2-3), which entered as a 21-point underdog.
In the first quarter, Young capitalized on a wild scramble, finding time to hit a wide-open Earle for a 31-yard score and a 7-0 lead with 3:57 left. The Crimson Tide ran just nine plays in the opening frame and had 90 yards of offense — just 1 yard rushing.
Following a targeting call and ejection of Bulldogs safety Jackie Matthews, Gibbs ripped off a 19-yard sprint off the right side to put Alabama up 14-0 on a three-play, 74-yard drive with 11:38 left in the first half.
Like he did on his first scoring pass, Young again found time by scrambling to his right and floating a pass that Holden secured for a 6-yard score and a three-touchdown lead just over three minutes later.
Will Reichard, who missed a late, tiebreaking field goal in the 52-49 loss to the Volunteers, drilled a 50-yard attempt to make it 24-0 with just under three minutes to go in the first half.
Late in the third quarter, Alabama took advantage of a short field on a muffed punt recovered by Jaylen Moody at the Mississippi State 17. Reichard finished the series with a 33-yard kick and later added a 38-yarder.
–Field Level Media
