Editor’s note: This is the eighth installment of our “Scouting the schedule” series, which breaks down every game on Mississippi State’s 2022 football schedule. Part 7 was about the Bulldogs’ visit to Kentucky, while Part 9 will detail MSU’s home matchup with Auburn.
If Mississippi State was going to beat Alabama for the first time in more than a decade, the two teams’ 2021 matchup seemed like a good time to do it.
MSU took on a (supposedly) reeling Crimson Tide team coming off a loss to Texas A&M. The Bulldogs were fresh off a bye week, and they were hosting the game at Davis Wade Stadium.
It didn’t matter.
Alabama crushed Mississippi State 49-9, and the Bulldogs must contend with less favorable circumstances this time around.
In 2022, the Tide will host, although they won’t be coming off a bye. But the return of quarterback Bryce Young, edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. and more will keep Alabama toward the top of the rankings and make MSU’s mountain to climb considerably taller.
Mississippi State will face Alabama on Oct. 22 at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa.
Alabama quick facts
2021 record: 13-2 (7-1 SEC)
Coach: Nick Saban, 16th year
ESPN Football Power Index: No. 1
All-time series: 83-16-3, Alabama leads
Last meeting: Oct. 16, 2021
History
Like it has most teams, Alabama has dominated Mississippi State over the course of history.
The Crimson Tide has won 83 of 102 matchups between the two, winning by an average of nearly two touchdowns. MSU hasn’t beaten Alabama since back-to-back wins in 2006 and 2007, the latter of which marked Nick Saban’s first year in Tuscaloosa.
The current 14-game skid isn’t even the worst in the rivalry’s history. Alabama rattled off 15 straight wins over the Bulldogs from 1981 to 1995; the Tide also won every year from 1958 to 1979, a 22-game stretch. Only a historic 6-3 upset of the top-ranked Tide in 1980 kept Alabama from a 38-game streak of wins over the Bulldogs.
Mississippi State, meanwhile, has never beaten Alabama more than three times in a row.
But then again, few teams have — only eight, according to sports-reference.com.
2021 season
The Crimson Tide was less dominant than usual in 2021, but it still almost amounted to another title in Tuscaloosa.
Alabama rebounded from its loss to Texas A&M in style, winning its final six regular-season games — including a four-overtime win at Auburn in an epic Iron Bowl — and then knocking off Georgia in the SEC title game. The Tide went on to handle Cincinnati in the College Football Playoff semifinals.
But Georgia had the upper hand in the national championship game, using its historic defense to secure a 33-18 win and its first title since 1980.
Alabama’s 2021 season included wins over Arkansas, Ole Miss and Tennessee in addition to its 49-9 win in Starkville.
Quarterback Bryce Young returns in 2022 off a Heisman Trophy-winning season in which he put up 4,872 yards and threw 47 touchdown passes against just seven interceptions.
Wideout Jameson Williams (1,572 yards, 15 touchdowns) was a first-round pick by the Detroit Lions after a torn ACL in the title game, while running back Brian Robinson Jr. was selected in the third round by the Washington Commanders after a 1,392-yard season.
Receiver John Metchie III (1,142 yards, eight touchdowns) was a second-round pick of the Houston Texans.
Alabama returns the nation’s best defensive player in Will Anderson Jr., a top-five Heisman Trophy candidate in 2021 after an absurd 34.5 tackles for loss and 17.5 sacks.
Linebacker Henry To’oT’o’o, who led his team in tackles with 102, is back in 2022.
Key additions
Alabama’s stellar recruiting class ranks behind only Texas A&M in the 247 Sports composite rankings.
The Tide landed three five-star recruits, led by in-state edge rusher Jeremiah Alexander. IMG Academy edge rusher Jihaad Campbell and Tennessee quarterback Ty Simpson are the Tide’s other two five-stars.
With 21 four-star players, Alabama has more than any other team, and the Tide also made a killing in the transfer market.
Alabama landed five-star cornerback Eli Ricks from LSU and former Georgia Tech running back Jahmyr Gibbs, who ran for 746 yards and added 470 receiving yards last year.
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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