Well. Last week wasn’t much fun for Mississippi State football fans. The Bulldogs completely fell apart as they faced off against the Kentucky Wildcats and imploded in a mistake-filled road game in Lexington. Now the Bulldogs need to find a way to get back on track. Unfortunately, Mike Leach and Mississippi State will be on the road and facing off against Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide.
If we see the Mississippi State team that demolished the Texas A&M Aggies and the Arkansas Razorbacks in impressive fashion in back-to-back contests, then this game could be pretty interesting. If we see the same MSU team that fell on the road against the LSU Tigers and Kentucky Wildcats, then there’s a chance that this game will get out of hand in a hurry.
Something that has been a common theme throughout this season is how the Bulldogs have yet to play a complete, mistake-free game. They’ll definitely need that if they hope to contend with the Crimson Tide this evening. State certainly needs to play up to their full potential to really challenge Alabama.
Will we see that? I’m not going to hold my breath.
Here’s everything you need to get prepared to watch Mississippi State and Alabama face off:
Table of contents:
- Mississippi State football vs. Alabama Crimson Tide preview
- Mississippi State vs. Alabama Crimson Tide: Bulldogs big underdogs on the road
- Mississippi State football vs. Alabama Crimson Tide: TV channel, live stream, live stats, online coverage
- Mississippi State football vs. Alabama Crimson Tide 2022 prediction
Mississippi State football vs. Alabama Crimson Tide preview
Mississippi State football: 3 Crimson Tide players to watch
- Will Anderson – This man is really, really good. He has the talent to be dominant in the NFL and honestly is as talented as anyone in the discussion for this season’s Heisman trophy. So far this year, Anderson has 32 tackles and 10.5 tackles for loss (including 5 sacks). I’m not thrilled about the prospects of MSU’s offensive line trying to slow him down.
- Bryce Young – Last year’s Heisman Trophy winner and the driver of one of the most exciting offenses in college football. He’s been dinged up a bit this year and hasn’t been quite as polished as he was a season ago, but he’s not far off at all and he’s still someone to fear facing. He’s completeing 67.2 percent of his passes and has thrown 16 touchdowns and 1,657 yards vs. 3 interceptions in six games this year. That’s really good.
- Jahmyr Gibbs – I don’t like the idea of MSU’s defense trying to slow one of the most dynamic and powerful running backs in the country. That’s not something that makes me really excited about this game. And Gibbs is good. Through 7 games this season, he has run for 635 yards and 5 touchdowns on 7.2 yards per carry. He also has 268 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns catches. I don’t like this!
Mississippi State football vs. Alabama Crimson Tide: 3 storylines to watch
Storyline 1: Can MSU slow Bryce Young down?
To truly compete in this game, Mississippi State is going to have to slow down one of the most dynamic offenses in the country led by one of the best athletes in all of college football.
No big deal!
The Texas Longhorns did a pretty good job of this earlier this season. In Austin, Young completed 27 of his 39 pass attempts, but he only threw for a paltry 213 passing yards and a single touchdown. Can the Bulldogs replicate that as they try to get a win?
Storyline 2: Can Mississippi State exploit any sort of weakness in Alabama’s secondary?
Alabama’s defense is really good. Nobody should ever make the mistake of believing that the Crimson Tide isn’t equipped with a stout defensive unit. That said, there have been moments this year where Alabama’s secondary has been vulnerable to dynamic passing attacks.
Alabama gave up 292 passing yards to Texas, 385 to the Tennessee Volunteers, and then even 253 to the Texas A&M Aggies (who do not have a dynamic passing attack).
MSU’s offensive attack is a good bit different than what all three of those teams employ. Texas and Tennessee both have a wide variety of plays prepared and are able to attack opponents in a number of different ways. Can the Bulldogs and Leach’s Air Raid attack Alabama’s secondary and make some magic happen?
Storyline 3: Which team makes more mistakes?
Neither of these teams have been all that sharp in recent weeks. We’ve seen both the Bulldogs and the Crimson Tide plagued with errors and mess up on numerous occasions.
If the Bulldogs can play mistake-free football, maybe they can make things at least a little interesting this evening. Of course, if they could play mistake-free football, they’d have beaten Kentucky and/or LSU. But that didn’t happen, unfortunately.
Here’s to hoping that things are better tonight!
Mississippi State football vs. Alabama Crimson Tide history
Do we really need to go over this?
It’s lopsided. Alabama has won a lot. MSU hasn’t won a lot. The Bulldogs haven’t gotten a win against Alabama since the Sylvester Croom era. So it’s been a while. Let’s not dwell on this section.
Mississippi State vs. Alabama Crimson Tide: Bulldogs big underdogs on the road
Mississippi State isn’t favored in this game. That shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone at all. Alabama is favored by 21 points at the moment and it honestly feels like that point spread should probably be a little wider, all things considered.
At the moment, the over/under is set at 61 points.
ESPN’s FPI doesn’t really give the Bulldogs much of a shot in this contest. That’s not a huge surprise either. At the moment, Alabama is being given a 90.8% chance of coming out on top of this contest. I’m not shocked about that. I hope you aren’t either.
But! On the bright side. Technically there is a chance that MSU can win. In theory, that is. That chance to indeed exist. Kinda.
Mississippi State football vs. Alabama Crimson Tide: TV channel, live stream, live stats, online coverage
Look. Not everyone can make it to Tuscaloosa for the game. I can’t blame anyone who doesn’t want to be there for this contest. So, here’s everything you’ll need to keep up with MSU and Alabama as the Bulldogs face the Crimson Tide this evening.
Mississippi State vs. Alabama game info:
- Who: Mississippi State Bulldogs vs. Alabama Crimson Tide
- What: Game 8 of the 2022 MSU football season
- When: Saturday, Oct. 22 at 6 p.m. CT
- Where: Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama
How to watch Mississippi State vs. Alabama:
- TV: ESPN
- Live stream: Watch ESPN
Mississippi State vs. Alabama radio information:
Mississippi State vs. Alabama online coverage and live stats:
- The Underdog Tribune’s Twitter account
- ESPN live stats and gamecast
- Official MSU football twitter account
- Live stats via StatBroadcast
Mississippi State football vs. Alabama Crimson Tide 2022 prediction
I have a weird gut feeling about this game.
Objectively speaking, this game shouldn’t be close at all. This is a contest that Alabama should run away with without any sort of issue. Do I think the Bulldogs have a realistic shot at winning? Not one bit.
But I have a weird gut feeling that I just can’t shake. Maybe it’s a ridiculous, unfounded sense of optimism that’s just chilling at the back of my consciousness, allowing me to feel a brief semblance of hope. It’s something weird that’s just sitting around
I don’t actually believe the Bulldogs are in a position to contend with the Crimson Tide. I’m not going to get my hopes up at all.
That’s not what’s happening here.
I just don’t know why I have a weird gut feeling about this game. Maybe it’s fear. Maybe that’s what it is. Maybe it’s the fact that I remember how close State was in 2017 and part of me wants a slightly better version of what happened in that contest.
Maybe it’s some absurd part of my brain that is holding out something that resembles hope for Leach, Rogers, and company being able to find a way to get this season going in the right direction once more and do something that makes this year truly special.
But objectively speaking, this game shouldn’t be all that close. Alabama has too much talent. The Bulldogs have been a mess at times on the offensive line. They’re mistake prone. MSU has struggled to stretch the field consistently.
Alabama should win and the Crimson Tide should win comfortably.
But knowing that doesn’t get rid of this weird gut feeling that I have. Maybe we’ll see something magical happen. Or at least we can hope, right?
Prediction: Alabama 45, Mississippi State 17
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