Alabama's 25-20 victory over No. 1 Mississippi State on Saturday wasn't always pretty, but it was just good enough to please Nick Saban. The Crimson Tide now sits in the SEC West driver's seat following its win over the previously unbeaten Bulldogs.

Alabama led 19-0 until a Mississippi State field goal with three seconds left in the half cut the lead to 16. The Bulldogs made it a one-score game at 19-13 after a touchdown at the start of the fourth quarter, but the Crimson Tide responded on its next drive to make it 25-19 with 8:09 remaining.

"It was one of the greatest drives in Alabama history, probably, to go down there and make it a two-score game in the fourth quarter," Saban said of Alabama's final touchdown of the game.

To hear everything Saban had to say after the Crimson Tide's win, watch the video above. (Fast forward to the end to hear a special thank you from the head coach.)

Below are partial transcripts of Saban, Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen and some players from both teams during postgame interviews.

ALABAMA QUOTES

Head Coach Nick Saban

Opening statement:

“Obviously, it was a great win for our team, our players, our fans, our university and everyone in the organization. I think anytime you beat the No. 1 team in the country, that’s a significant accomplishment. I was really proud of how our players competed in the game. I thought the defense did a fantastic job. The turnovers were huge with the three interceptions. They were all drive stoppers.

“Offensively, we struggled a little bit in the second half. We didn’t move the ball as well as I thought we should have. At the end of the third quarter, we were a little tired, which is a bit of an issue for us. When we needed to put a drive together on offense and answer the bell to score and make it a two-score game, we put a great drive together. We made some critical third-down conversions.

“This is a really good football team that we played today – they’re really hard to stop – and I think our defense did a fantastic job holding them to what we did. We held them to 13 points with 15 seconds to go in the game, and we were trying to shrink the game in the end. It would have been great to stop them, but we did it well enough to where even if they did get the onside kick, they wouldn’t have had a whole lot of time to score.

“I can’t tell you how proud I am of how our players competed in the game. You have to give Mississippi State’s players a lot of credit they really came out in the second half and played outstanding football. They’re a great team. At halftime, when you play teams like this, they’re going to come out in the second half and compete no matter what. It was a little like the Auburn game, the Cam Newton game here. We got ahead 24-(7) or whatever it was, and they came back in the second half. That’s what good teams do, that’s why they’re No. 1. But our team has shown that they have an ability to do that. We made plays when we had to today, and I think that was a sign of great competitive character for our team as well.”

On the play of Blake Sims tonight, particularly on the last scoring drive of the fourth quarter:

“He did a really good job of executing. We dropped a couple of balls that made it more difficult for us in the second half. On that drive, I already mentioned the two third-down conversions, but he did a good job of getting us in the right plays and really did a good job of executing. We have to do a better job of creating balance on offense and controlling the football against a team like this. We knew in the game we needed to control the football so they wouldn’t have the ball. They ran 88 plays, which is too many, in my opinion. The way that they don’t run 88 plays is we have to get a few more third-down stops and fourth-down stops – they converted three fourth downs. We also have to control the ball on offense and do a better job offensively on a more consistent basis. That was probably one of the greatest drives in Alabama history to go down there and make it a two score game in the fourth quarter.”

On T.J. Yeldon and the running game:

“I think running is the key. When we can run the ball it makes a huge difference. The passing game makes a huge difference in explosive plays. We made a couple of explosive plays in the first half, probably didn’t make enough explosive plays in the second half, but we were able to run the ball when we had to. That’s a real key for us. For us to be able to improve on that and continue to be able to do that is going to be a real key for us in the future in terms of being able to be successful against some of the really good teams that we are going to have to play. I thought T.J. played well in the game. Probably wasn’t as explosive as normal, but the guy is a true warrior. There was no way you were going to keep him out of the game. He wanted to play. Hopefully we’ll be able to get him healed up and he’ll be better here down the stretch. We’ll get him a couple of days off to try to get him healed up.”

#6 Blake Sims, Quarterback

On the final touchdown drive:

“We made big-time plays at the right time and the guys fought hard. The defense made a great stand for us to have that drive. I’m just proud of the way that the whole team played.”

On the importance of the win:

“It’s really big, and I’m glad that we got the win. I’m looking forward to seeing what else we have this year.”

#5 Cyrus Jones, Defensive Back

On his interception in the second half:

“They went empty and spread out wide with five wide receivers in the game.  I just tried to get my guy cut off, and I turned around and the ball was coming. I was just trying to make a play.”

On the defensive performance against Heisman candidate Dak Prescott:

“It was a collective job, all together, like each and every week. We just try to prepare well in practice, study our game plan, and be on top of things mentally when we come in. That’s the biggest thing; we just went out there and tried to execute what we’ve been taught.”

MISSISSIPPI STATE QUOTES

Head Coach Dan Mullen

Opening Statement:

“It was a really well-fought ball game. Those were two very good football teams out there playing. Give Alabama a lot of credit. They did the things you needed to do to win. They made more plays at the end than we did. If you look, very simply, the things they did to win: they were +3 turnover ratio, they won the kicking game by keeping us pinned and they won field position battles all night long. In big games, those are really the things that are going to make a difference. Red zone scoring was a very simple plan to win. I think we had the ball six times in the red zone, so that’s potentially 42 points. If we just score touchdowns in the red zone it wouldn’t have been a close game. We would’ve won big, but give them a lot of credit. They made all those plays they needed to do. All year, we’ve been making plays to find a way to win a game and tonight, they made more plays and did the things you need to do to play winning football a little bit more than we did.”

On the kicking game and how it made a difference:

“Field position is a huge part of the game in these big games. If you look, to win football games, there are simple plans to win. You have to play great defense and I thought we did that. We had almost a hundred more yards of offense than they did tonight. Our guys played really good defense, got off the field when they needed to get off of the field, but the MVP of the game is probably Alabama’s punter [J.K. Scott]. We were really poor punting the ball tonight and they were really good punting the ball tonight. When you look, those flips in field position, when you’re playing quality teams, it’s hard to just think you’re just going to drive the ball at will on an excellent defense like Alabama. That ended up being a major factor.”

On the safety:

“Josh [Robinson] was trying to make a play he didn’t need to. He should’ve kept it up inside, but he tried to bounce it outside to make a play. The guys are just trying to make plays out there on the field in big games, which you don’t have any problems with.”

On the game in general:

“I thought our guys played well. Our guys were fired up and ready to go make plays and I thought we did that. Those are two of the best teams in the country out there battling and there’s absolutely no doubt about that. Those are two of the best teams in the country out there battling at football and it was a great game. I give them credit for making the plays the needed to win.”

#13 Josh Robinson, Running Back

On Alabama’s defense:

“It wasn’t too tough. We just beat ourselves. We made a lot of mental mistakes. We’re going to fix those mistakes and do what we do.”

On if he thinks Mississippi State is still a playoff contender:

“I know we are. We just have to play Mississippi State football and we’ll be fine. They always thought we were out since day one. We just have to climb back to the top.”

#15 Dak Prescott, Quarterback

On the redzone offense:

“It was very disappointing. We squandered a lot of points. We lost focus out in the game. You have to win in the redzone, but we squandered our chances. Alabama is a great team. They did a good job (with defensive) scheming. I think it was on us.”

On if they let the game slip through their fingers:

“Yeah, we had them. We turned over the ball. It was just stupid turnovers. Then we had the ball intercepted. That one slipped away.”

#42 Beniquez Brown, Linebacker

On if he was on the field when there was an apparent fumble by Alabama:

“Yeah, I’m the one that pulled it out. I really didn’t get a good look at it. I just felt like I ripped it out, but you really can’t second-guess it. You know, they reviewed it. You just accept it and keep on playing. It would’ve been a big momentum swing for us, but you can’t take it back. You just move on to the next play and just put the ball down like coach always tells us.”

On if he thinks his team still has a chance to make the playoff:

“Hopefully, but you know, we’re not really worried about it. We have to just come out next week and get better and beat Vanderbilt. If it’s meant for us to make it, then we will.”

 

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