STARKVILLE — The Mississippi State Bulldogs were unable to contain the No. 12/11 Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday night, falling 40-17 at Davis-Wade Stadium.
Jalen Milroe got the scoring started with a 53-yard keeper midway through the first quarter. Three plays into Mississippi State’s (2-3, 0-3) ensuing drive, Will Rogers had a screen pass picked off and returned for a touchdown to make it 14-0. MSU closed out the first quarter scoring with a field goal.
Alabama opened up the second quarter with a field goal. The Bulldogs answered with a touchdown on a keeper by Mike Wright to make it 17-10 with 6 minutes, 26 seconds left.
The Crimson Tide (4-1, 2-0) answered with a 12-play, 75-yard drive which ended in a touchdown. Rogers was then intercepted on the first play of MSU’s ensuing drive. Three plays later, Milroe ran in his second touchdown, allowing Alabama to take a 31-10 lead into halftime.
Alabama added another field goal on its first drive of the fourth. Mississippi State faced fourth down early on its next drive, then Rogers got picked off again to put the game on ice.
Mississippi State hosts Western Michigan next Saturday. Kickoff is at 11 a.m. on the SEC Network.
Philip Poe is sports editor.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 42 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
