Skip to content

Ad Disclosure

Mississippi State Bulldogs

Can Dak Prescott beat Alabama’s defense?

Brett Weisband

By Brett Weisband

Published:

Saturday’s showdown between No. 1 Mississippi State and Alabama, sitting fifth in the College Football Playoff rankings, will not only go a long way to determine the two schools’ playoff fates, but also the SEC West winner. The player that will likely have the greatest impact on the game itself: Bulldogs quarterback Dak Prescott.

In recent years, Alabama has had some issues containing mobile quarterbacks, and Prescott is as mobile as it gets. He averages 85 yards per game on the ground and has scored 11 rushing touchdowns. The Bulldogs are deadly in the zone-read with running back Josh Robinson and Prescott, both when one of those two runs the ball or when Prescott pulls it to throw. Dak is also more than capable of making some magic behind the line of scrimmage, changing directions and evading defenders.

Looking back at Alabama’s recent history, it’s easy to spot a trend among quarterbacks that have beaten the Crimson Tide the last three seasons. Johnny Manziel, Nick Marshall, Trevor Knight, even Bo Wallace; all four of those signal callers are capable or better as runners. Wallace is the least dangerous of the four, but even he picked up three first downs on the ground in Ole Miss’ 23-17 win earlier this season.

Nick Saban knows the kind of challenge his team is in for, and he addressed it at length in his Monday press conference.

It’s a difficult combination when you have a guy who is big, physical and has the ability to run the ball on quarterback runs, which creates another gap,” Saban said. “Then he has the ability to really effectively, and efficiently, pass the football, down the field, short, and really take advantage of he vary thing that you do to try and stop him as a runner.”

That’s the kind of challenge the Crimson Tide have failed to meet in recent years. Mississippi State has the opportunity to nail down the SEC West title and make it’s path to the playoffs that much clearer. If Prescott can twist Alabama’s offense around his finger like other mobile QBs have, the Bulldogs’ chances of victory jump big time.

Brett Weisband

A former freelance journalist from Philadelphia, Brett has made the trek down to SEC country to cover the greatest conference in college football.

You might also like...

2025 RANKINGS

presented by rankings

Read our Privacy Policy, Terms and Conditions, Cookie Policy and

© 2025 Saturday Down South. All rights reserved

We do not target any individuals under the age of 21. We support responsible gambling. If you feel like you're losing control over your gambling experience, call 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ, PA, WV), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA), 1-888- 532-3500(Virginia) 1-800-522-4700 (NV, TN), 1-800-522-4700 (CO, TN), 1-855-2CALLGA (IL), 1-800-270-7117 (MI). global.footer.legal