Coming off a huge win at Texas A&M and then a bye week, hopes were high in Starkville on Saturday night that Mississippi State would give No. 5 Alabama a battle.

It didn’t happen.

The Crimson Tide jumped out to a 21-6 halftime lead and cruised from there to a 49-9 victory, dropping the Bulldogs to 3-3 on the season and 1-2 in SEC play.

Will Rogers passed for 300 yards for Mississippi State but also threw 3 costly interceptions, and the Bulldogs managed just minus-1 yard rushing on 19 carries against an inspired Alabama defense.

The MSU defense didn’t fare any better than the offense, allowing 543 total yards, including 348 passing yards and 4 TDs by Crimson Tide QB Bryce Young.

After the game, Bulldogs coach Mike Leach briefly met with the media.

Here are some of his thoughts on the lopsided loss.

On how Rogers and the wide receivers struggled at times:

On the number of mistakes his team made:

On what it will take to compete with a program like Alabama: