Mississippi State reveals captains for Week 5 home showdown against Alabama
Published:
Mississippi State will stage arguably its biggest football game in many years on Saturday at noon ET (ABC) when it hosts mighty Alabama at Davis Wade Stadium.
The Bulldogs have been one of the big stories so far in college football, rising to No. 16 in the country in the latest AP Poll and standing proudly at 4-0 overall and 2-0 in the SEC as Bama comes to Starkville for the conference showdown. The 7th-ranked Crimson Tide have the same overall and SEC records, so this Week 5 clash sets up to be one of the biggest games of the 2026 season.
To win this game, Mississippi State will lean on everybody, but on the eve of the battle the Bulldogs named their team captains who will lead them on the field on Saturday. There will be a trio of captains representing Mississippi State against the Tide: junior cornerback Jett Jefferson, junior EDGE Amaree Williams and junior offensive lineman DJ Chester.
The 3 Bulldog captains were celebrated on Friday with this post as they get ready for Saturday:
Jefferson has 19 total tackles, 13 of them solo, to go with 5 pass deflections so far this season.
Meanwhile, Williams also has 19 total tackles in 2026, with 10 of them solo, along with 1.5 sacks and 2 pass deflections.
Naturally, Chester is a leader for the Bulldogs along the offensive line, and he’ll be counted on big-time Saturday against that fierce Alabama defensive front.
While Mississippi State has identified its team captains and will lean on them on Saturday, it will take a group effort to take down Alabama in Starkville. Here is what the Kalshi market is currently saying about the Bulldogs’ chances to pull the upset at home:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
