TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — On a night in which liquored-up undergrads dressed as ghouls and goblins sat scattered in the stands at Bryant-Denny Stadium, it was Alabama wide receiver DeVonta Smith who left Mississippi State with nightmares in the Bulldogs’ 41-0 loss on Halloween night.
Facing a Mississippi State defense that sat atop the Southeastern Conference in pass defense entering Saturday’s duel down Highway 82, Smith totaled 159 yards on nine catches and a hat trick of touchdowns in the opening 30 minutes alone.
“He’s obviously an explosive guy — everybody knew that,” MSU head coach Mike Leach said postgame. “But the other thing that I was impressed with is how competitive he is from one snap to the next. He’s a very good example to pretty much anybody on our team.”
For MSU, it was another anemic night in a string of offensive outputs that would make Sylvester Croom, the last Bulldog head coach to win in Tuscaloosa 13 years ago, shudder at the sight.
Head coach Mike Leach’s air raid was held to less than 280 yards passing for the third straight game despite a bye week to prepare, as Bulldog signal callers K.J. Costello — who left the game midway through the second quarter with an undisclosed injury and did not return — and Will Rogers completed a combined 7 of 16 passes for 20 yards in the first half.
“We had a tough time getting in a rhythm,” Leach said. “Anytime you change quarterbacks, that’s going to foul your rhythm up some.”
While the Crimson Tide sliced and diced the Bulldog defense to the tune of 27 first-half points, MSU didn’t earn a first down until 9:24 remained in the second quarter and failed to find another until the opening drive of the third quarter.
In all, the Bulldogs combined for more punts (seven) in the first half than Alabama quarterback Mac Jones had incompletions (six).
Following the break, MSU showed brief signs of life. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Alabama linebacker Dylan Moses moved the Bulldogs across the 50-yard line for just the second time all night.
A 12-yard fourth down completion to freshman running back Jo’quavious Marks moved MSU into the red zone for the first and only time all game before Rogers forced a pass in the middle of the end zone to Osirus Mitchell that was batted around and corralled by Moses for an interception.
Smith put the final nail in the Bulldogs’ proverbial coffin as he caught a 10-yard pass from Jones for his fourth score of the night, tying him with Amari Cooper for Alabama’s all-time career touchdown receptions with 31.
“Obviously Smith is a great receiver, great playmaker,” senior defensive end Kobe Jones said. “But what stood out most, I would say, is confidence. When he plays, he plays with great confidence and he obviously came through in a big way for the Tide tonight so props to him.”
As the All Hallows’ Eve festivities in Tuscaloosa came to a merciful end, MSU walked off the field with its 13th straight loss to Alabama and seventh in a row on the road.
It also marked the first time Mike Leach’s high-flying aerial assault has ever been held scoreless and marked the second instance this season in which the Bulldogs set a career low scoring output for their first-year head coach.
“Our message to the guys is going to be there’s no time to weep and cry about this game or any game in the past,” senior linebacker Erroll Thompson said. “You get a whole new game next Saturday. It’s just time to punch the clock.”
Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.
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