Alabama quarterback Blake Sims completed 19-of-31 passes for 211 yards and a touchdown and T.J. Yeldon ran for 72 yards and a touchdown to lift the fifth-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide to a 25-20 victory over the top-ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs on Saturday. The win gives Alabama the inside track to represent the SEC West in the SEC Championship Game. A win over Auburn in a few weeks will give them the division title.
Mississippi State were not able to get their running game going earning just 138 yards for on 40 carries, Dak Prescott picked up 82 of those yards. Prescott was forced to throw a season-high 48 passes on the night. That was 14 more passes than his previous season high of 34 last month against Auburn. He also threw for a season-high three interceptions which accounted for all of Mississippi State’s turnovers on the night.
The worst part about the game for Prescott was that all of his interceptions came in key moments of the game. The first came early in the second quarter after a solid drive into Alabama territory. It was 3rd-and-9 from the 40 yard line. Prescott looked over the middle for a crossing receiver but the ball was picked off by Nick Perry.
The second interception came as the third quarter was winding down. Alabama held a 19-6 lead and had just missed a 37-yard field goal on the other end. Mississippi State used a great combination of running and passing to move the ball 65 yards down to the Alabama 15. Two plays earlier, Prescott completed a pass to Josh Robinson after a fake double-reverse for 26 yards to get into the red zone. Cyrus Jones would make a great play on defense shielding the receiver out of bounds before turning around to make the catch and end the Bulldog momentum.
Finally, with just over five minutes to go and the ball on the Alabama 20 yard line. Dak Prescott looked for another crossing route but the ball was tipped at the line of scrimmage right to Landon Collins for the final pick of the night. Any sort of score would have been good for Mississippi State on that drive but they came away empty-handed.
Now the big debate will be how this result will change the Top 4 in the College Football Playoff. The likely scenario will see Alabama jump into the Top 4 but how far will Mississippi State fall? You must also consider that TCU struggled to barely squeak by Kansas on the road today. We will find that out on Tuesday night.
Mississippi State returns to Starkville next week for senior night as they host the Vanderbilt Commodores. Alabama plays host to FCS side Western Carolina next Saturday afternoon as they prep for the Iron Bowl with Auburn.