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Handing out grades from Mississippi State’s 25-20 loss to Alabama.
OFFENSE: D
A host of issues, both old and new, held the Bulldogs back all afternoon. Dak Prescott’s 3 interceptions were costly, especially in the second half. In the third quarter, State had a chance to make it a one-score game when he threw a pick in the end zone, and in the fourth quarter Mississippi State’s comeback dreams officially died when Alabama safety Landon Collins snagged a tipped ball. The play calling for much of the game was confusing, as the Bulldogs seemed to want to run the ball right at Alabama instead of spreading them out and picking up the tempo. The Bulldogs only picked up 118 yards on the ground at 3.4 yards per carry, but more than half of those yards came from Prescott; Josh Robinson was limited to 36 yards on 13 carries.
DEFENSE: B
The Bulldogs defense did get picked apart by Blake Sims’ legs later in the game, but they did a good job containing Alabama’s offense for much of the afternoon. They limited Alabama to 335 yards of total offense and just 3.9 yards per carry. While Mississippi State did get burned deep on a big Amari Cooper catch in the first half, giving up a touchdown to him as well, the Bulldogs mostly help the superstar in check with 8 catches for 88 yards. State often fell victim to the field position battle, facing an average starting position of the Alabama 34-yard line.
SPECIAL TEAMS: C-
Mentioned above, Mississippi State got clobbered in the field position game. That was the result of two big problems: kick returning and punting. On the latter point, Mississippi State averaged just 34.4 yards per punt, with at least two attempts that could be considered shanks. The Bulldogs also four kickoffs for just 17.8 yards per, contributing to starting off their drives at their own 20-yard line.
COACHING: D
The play calling in the first half was certainly questionable; Alabama has a reputation for struggling against mobile quarterbacks and hurry-up, spread offenses, yet Mississippi State played methodically and ran the ball into the line for much of the first half. When the Bulldogs tried to mount a late-game comeback, they once again slowed down, wasting precious seconds on their final touchdown drive. The play calling was Dan Mullen’s worst of the season.
OVERALL: C-
The Bulldogs made this game closer look closer in the final margin than it really was. State’s offense was out of sync all night and Prescott looked as bad as he has all year. Mississippi State isn’t out of the playoff race, but they severely harmed their chances with a flat effort.
A former freelance journalist from Philadelphia, Brett has made the trek down to SEC country to cover the greatest conference in college football.