Alabama rolls over Mississippi State

STARKVILLE, Miss. — Alabama didn’t really win the game in the second half.

Sure, big plays by Greg McElroy and Julio Jones and Mark Ingram highlighted Saturday night’s surprisingly easy 31-3 blowout victory over Mississippi State.

But this game was won when Alabama took State’s best punches, both in the opening minutes and even before the game, and never blinked.

The Bulldogs’ record crowd of 58,103 was charged up when State came out of the locker room in black jerseys after it warmed up in its traditional maroon shirts. But it wasn’t just the jerseys.

“I could tell by the way their players were during pregame,” Saban said. “I told our players it was going to be a street fight out there, and you’re going to have to go toe-to-toe with them for a while.

“We’re going to have to change the way they think in terms of the way we play and the way we execute.”

Sure enough, State came out firing on its first two possessions. But Mark Barron, who intercepted two passes, grabbed an overthrown ball to end State’s second drive on the Alabama 12.

Field position gradually changed, and McElroy hit Darius Hanks on a 45-yard touchdown pass early in the second quarter to put Alabama ahead 7-0.
The Tide’s defense dominated the second period, holding State without a first down and forced punts on three consecutive three-and-outs.

Alabama executed a 72-yard, 11-play drive that took more than six minutes to go up 14-0. Again, McElroy hit Hanks for 11 yards on third-and-seven to keep it alive. Trent Richardson then ripped off an 18-yard run.

Mark Ingram followed Terrence Cody into the end zone on first and goal from the 1 to make it 14-0. On the play, Ingram suffered a gash to his chin that required five stitches to close.

Javier Arenas said at that point, he noticed a change.

“Probably after 14, we felt them start to deflate a little bit,” Arenas said. “But we still had to keep playing our type of ball.”

The cornerback and return specialist said the Tide had to survive early.

“It was tough. They were very emotional. We just had to keep our composure and play Alabama football,” Arenas said.

The cornerback practically sneered at the black jerseys.

“They came out in black jerseys? For real?” he said with a straight face. “Whatever. Distraction. They’re trying to create ... I don’t know. We still played our ball.”

Saban said the second quarter was pivotal.

“That was a real key to it because it was a struggle in the first quarter,” the coach said.

Alabama got a 39-yard Leigh Tiffin field goal in the third quarter, helped by a 42-yard pass completion to Marquis Maze, and took a 17-0 lead into the final 15 minutes.

That’s when the explosive plays on offense stretched the lead.

First, McElroy hit Jones on the same play he had hit Hanks earlier in the game.

“This time, they went to Hanks, and Julio was wide open,” McElroy said. “In the second quarter, they covered Julio, and Hanks came free.”

One play after Barron’s second interception, Mark Ingram went 70 yards for the score. Ingram finished with 149 yards on 19 carries.

He got the better end of the deal than State’s physical running back Anthony Dixon. Dixon ran for 81 yards on 22 carries.

Saban liked what he saw from his offense and defense, but he liked the way his team met the challenge early.

“Do you have enough honor in yourself to be responsible for what you’re supposed to do and do it the best you can?” Saban asked. “Do you have enough courage to do it in any circumstance and do you have the perseverance to do it all the time? If you’re going to be a champion in anything that you do, you need to do those three things. I’m really proud of our players for the way they did that tonight.”

Second quarter
12:48 Alabama 7, Mississippi State 0: Darius Hanks 45-yard pass from Greg McElroy (Leigh Tiffin PAT). Drive: 6 plays, 80 yards, 3:04. Key play: McElroy kept the defense honest by faking a handoff to the right side to Mark Ingram and running around left end for 16 yards and a first down at the Alabama 45.

4:41 Alabama 14, Mississippi State 0: Mark Ingram 1-yard run (Tiffin PAT). Drive: 11 plays, 72 yards, 6:14. Key play: Facing third-and-7 at the State 42, McElroy got a nice block from Trent Richardson to pick up a blitzing linebacker and hit Darius Hanks over the middle for 11 yards and key first down.

Third quarter
11:19 Alabama 17, Mississippi State 0: Leigh Tiffin 39-yard field goal. Drive: 7 plays, 47 yards, 3:32. Key play: On third-and-10 from the Alabama 31, McElroy hit Marquis Maze on a short crossing pattern. Maze cut sharply toward the right sideline and turned the corner for 42 yards and a first down at the MSU 27.

Fourth quarter
10:35 Alabama 17, Mississippi State 3: Sean Brauchle 34-yard field goal. Drive: 15 plays, 44 yards, 6:59. Key play: Quarterback Tyson Lee rolled to his left and completed a 15-yard pass to Anthony Dixon along the left sideline for a first-and-goal at the Alabama 5. But the Bulldogs couldn’t punch it in.

10:18 Alabama 24, Mississippi State 3: Julio Jones 48-yard pass from McElroy (Tiffin PAT). Drive: 1 play, 48 yards, 0:08 seconds. Key play: Jones was wide open deep down the field on a blown coverage. McElroy made the easy throw and Jones cradled it comfortably.

7:24 Alabama 31, Mississippi State 3: Ingram 70-yard run (Tiffin PAT). Drive: 1 play, 70 yards, 0:11. Key play: Mark Barron’s second interception of the game stopped a Bulldog drive and gave the Tide the ball at its own 30. Ingram scored on the next play.