Mississippi State is back home Saturday night as the Bulldogs (2-2, 0-2 Southeastern Conference) host No. 12 Alabama (3-1, 1-0) at Davis Wade Stadium. The game will kick off at 8 p.m. on ESPN. Here are five keys to victory for MSU.

Keep the Crimson Tide’s defensive front out of the backfield

This game will be the stiffest test yet for the Bulldogs’ offensive line as Alabama has two of the best edge rushers in the country in Dallas Turner and Chris Braswell. MSU quarterback Will Rogers looked more comfortable rolling out of the pocket last week against South Carolina than he had earlier in the season, but he is not much of a threat with his legs and will need to get the ball out quickly.

Even though the Bulldogs returned four of five starters on the offensive line, MSU allowed four sacks in each of its first two SEC games and struggled to run the ball against the Gamecocks. Backup quarterback Mike Wright could see more action Saturday due to his speed and ability to escape pressure.

“The SEC is a line of scrimmage league, on both sides of the ball,” running backs coach Tony Hughes said. “The team that wins the line of scrimmage usually is the team that comes out on top.”

Will Rogers needs to play mistake-free

Rogers bounced back in a big way last week from a poor performance against LSU, but did throw his first interception of the season in the red zone on a play where he was likely better off just throwing the ball out of bounds. Alabama has three NFL prospects at cornerback, headlined by perhaps the best defensive player in the country in Kool-Aid McKinstry.

Any miscommunication between Rogers and his receivers, which happened several times in the LSU game, will not go unpunished against the Crimson Tide, who also boast Malachi Moore and Terrion Arnold in their defensive backfield.

“It’s a challenge, and I think we’re up for it,” receivers coach Chad Bumphis said. “They know what they’re up against. We’ve got to make some plays downfield. You’re going to beat this team, you’re going to take shots and you have to make some of these plays.”

Limit explosive plays

For the fourth-consecutive week, the Bulldogs will face a strong-armed quarterback who is unafraid to take off and run. After rotating through two other passers, Alabama has landed on Jalen Milroe as its starter. Milroe had a difficult outing against Texas but was an efficient 17-for-21 last week against Ole Miss.

Chunk plays in the passing game have been the MSU defense’s kryptonite in each of its last three games, and now the Bulldogs’ secondary is tasked with containing receivers Jermaine Burton and Isaiah Bond. If Burton torches MSU the way LSU’s Malik Nabers and South Carolina’s Xavier Legette did, this could get ugly in a hurry for the Bulldogs.

Win the time of possession battle

Time of possession is not always the most important statistic, but against a team like the Crimson Tide, it would serve MSU well to keep its offense on the field as much as possible. The fewer chances Alabama’s offense gets, the longer the Bulldogs are likely to stay in the game.

On offense, MSU can do this by making smart plays on first and second down to avoid third-and-long situations, and avoiding pre-snap and holding penalties. Defensively, the Bulldogs must make stops on third-and-long, and given the strength of the Tide’s offensive line, linebackers Jett Johnson and Nathaniel “Bookie” Watson cannot afford to miss many tackles.

Make a big play on special teams

Special teams is probably MSU’s biggest area of relative strength compared to Alabama. Whether it’s a long kickoff return by Lideatrick “Tulu” Griffin, a Zavion Thomas punt return or more long-distance field goals by freshman Kyle Ferrie, big plays in the kicking game could be necessary for the Bulldogs to pull the upset.

While MSU would obviously prefer to punt as little as possible, both punters also performed well last week as Andrew Osteen and Keelan Crimmins saw their kicks downed inside the 5-yard line in the first quarter of the South Carolina game.