Here are a couple of grades following No. 5 Alabama’s 25-20 win over No. 1 Mississippi State:

OFFENSE: B

It was the performance we’ve come to expect on some level from Alabama. The Crimson Tide gained 335 total yards of offense behind a pretty strong performance from Blake Sims. Sims finished 19 of 31 for 211 yards and a score. Sims, T.J. Yeldon and Derrick Henry combined for 124 rushing yards against an active Mississippi State front seven. Alabama struggled on third downs for most of the afternoon, converting on just five of 15 third down chances.

DEFENSE: A+

The Crimson Tide used a lock down effort to shut down Mississippi State’s vaunted offense led by Dak Prescott. Alabama was able to get home and create pressure on Prescott with just its front four, often forcing him into quick decisions. We knew the strength of the Tide’s defense was between the tackles, but Mississippi State had little to no success on the perimeter of the field. Alabama got off the field on third downs and forced three turnovers, all Prescott interceptions.

SPECIAL TEAMS: A

Christion Jones had a some good kick returns, and Adam Griffith made one of his two field goal attempts. However, the day belonged to punter J.K. Scott, who pinned Mississippi State with horrible field position all afternoon. Scott averaged nearly 46 yards per kick, and had five punts inside the Bulldogs’ 20-yard line.

COACHING: A

There were no major concerns from the Alabama coaching staff on Saturday afternoon. Both Kirby Smart and Lane Kiffin had good game plans for attacking the Bulldogs. Nick Saban continues to have his team prepared in big games, now 4-1 against AP No. 1 teams at Alabama.

OVERALL: A

Alabama took care of business on Saturday afternoon and looked like the better team in doing so. The Crimson Tide looked more confident and more experienced, and made Mississippi State very uncomfortable inside Bryant-Denny Stadium. Alabama now has a virtual bye week with Western Carolina coming to town next week.