Alabama busts Bulldogs, 25-20:
State rally falls short as Alabama defense shines
In what Alabama coach Nick Saban calls “one of the greatest drives in Alabama history, probably,” the Crimson Tide rolls past nationally top-ranked Mississippi State in Tuscaloosa.
(4) ALABAMA 25, (1) MISSISSIPPI STATE 20
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama’s lead had dwindled dangerously against the nation’s top-ranked team.
Suddenly, Blake Sims and the fourth-ranked Crimson Tide’s offense roared to life with a downfield march full of clutch plays. The result was a decisive fourth-quarter touchdown in Saturday’s 25-20 victory over No. 1 Mississippi State.
“It was one of the greatest drives in Alabama history, probably,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said.
The Tide (9-1, 6-1 SEC, No. 5 College Football Playoff) reasserted itself as a national title contender with a dominant first half and clutch play in the fourth quarter.
Dak Prescott and the Bulldogs (9-1, 5-1, No. 1 CFP) kept fighting to keep their first-ever reign going for a sixth week. They couldn’t conquer Alabama at raucous Bryant-Denny Stadium, though.
“We should feel awful,” Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen said. “You should have a sickness in your stomach. We should embrace this feeling to make sure that this feeling doesn’t happen again. We’ll feel sick tonight, but then we’ll get over it.
“Except for being undefeated, every other goal is still ahead of us.”
Mississippi State scored early in the fourth to make it a six-point game, but Sims and Yeldon answered with a startand-stop march to the end zone.
The Bulldogs scored a touchdown with 15 seconds left after a drive that took three minutes.
“We just ran out of time,” said Prescott, who was intercepted three times. “I just think that it was us.
“I can’t turn the ball over like I did.”
Alabama recovered the onside kick to secure its seventh straight win in the series.
The Bulldogs fell one win shy of the program-record 13- game winning streak but likely will remain in the championship hunt. They were the only unbeaten team in the brutal SEC coming into the game, and they didn’t go down quietly after trailing 19-3 at halftime.
“We just started playing football,” Mullen said. “We started making plays and started scoring.”
Down 25-13, Prescott had the Bulldogs moving in the final six minutes, even converting a fourth-and-seven. Then Landon Collins got Alabama’s third interception of the Heisman candidate with 5:01 left.
Sims completed 19 of 31 passes for 211 yards and a touchdown, but he made his biggest plays on Alabama’s final touchdown drive.
He converted two third-andlong plays with runs and delivered on a third with an 8-yard pass to Yeldon.
“He kept that drive alive a few times, reaching that third-down marker,” Alabama center Ryan Kelly said of Sims.
Then Yeldon, whose status was unclear all week with an ankle injury, kept the Tide moving with three straight runs, ultimately stepping out of a defender’s grasp to cap it with a 6-yard touchdown.
“Probably wasn’t as explosive as normal, but the guy’s a true warrior,” Saban said. “There was no way you were going to keep him out of the game. He wanted to play.”
Saban said Alabama’s defense had been tiring by the end of the third quarter, so that six-minute drive gave that group some respite.
Yeldon finished with 72 yards on 16 carries, and Amari Cooper caught eight passes for 88 yards and a score.