Alabama vs Mississippi State: Grading The Crimson Tide’s Performance

The highlight of Alabama's offensive performance came in the fourth quarter. Up by six and needing a score, Blake Sims drove his offense down the field on a 15 play, 76 yard drive that ended with a T.J. Yeldon touchdown. Sims kept the drive alive with two first down runs on third and long situations. After the game, Saban said, "It was one of the greatest drive in Alabama history, probably."

The rest of the game for Alabama's offense went back and forth. They did a nice job of reeling off big plays in the first half that put them in a position to score. A 35 yard reception from Sims to Jalston Fowler set up the first touchdown, and an Amari Cooper 50 reception set up the second touchdown on the Tide's next drive. Lane Kiffin has done a nice job all season of calling the right plays at the right time, and those big plays will always help.

The second half performance caused the offense to receive a "B-" on this week's grading report. Instead of staying balanced and moving the ball down field, Kiffin let Sims throw the ball on first and second down which usually led to having to throw on third down. They gained just one first down in the third quarter and that drive led to a missed 37-yard field goal from Adam Griffith. The lack of offensive success in the second half forced an already worn down defense to play more downs. During the "historic" scoring drive of the fourth quarter, Alabama ran the ball ten times (two of those were Blake Sims scrambles) and passed the ball five times. When the big plays do not work, the Tide is most successful when they remain balanced.

Some may question the play calling of Lane Kiffin, but it is hard to recall a time when Alabama's offense was so lethal through the air and on the ground. Yeldon and Derrick Henry are threats in the backfield and the Sims/Cooper combo is one dangerous combination. However, As teams begin to focus more on containing Amari Cooper, Sims should look for other receivers like he appears to be doing with DeAndrew White. The biggest key moving forward will be figuring out how to keep the ball moving for all four quarters of the game.

This is likely the only time you will see Alabama's defense receive an "A" when allowing 20 points and over 420 yards of total offense. The performance was much more impressive than what those numbers show, especially when it came to stopping Dak Prescott. Prescott's three interceptions and 48 pass attempts were both season highs. The Bulldogs averaged a season low four yards per play and were held two their second-lowest rushing total of the year.

The defense opened up things for Blake Sims and the offense by giving them second chances and momentum. The first point of the game came when Mississippi State's Josh Robinson was tackled in the end zone for a safety. The ability to buckle down in the red zone was the most impressive. The Bulldogs' first five redzone trips ended with field goal, field goal, interception, touchdown, and interception. The second and final touchdown for Mississippi State came with just 15 seconds remaining in the game.

Prescott did manage 290 passing yards, but for the most part, the secondary stepped up huge. Safety Nick Perry led the team with 12 tackless and also got his first interception of the season. Cyrus Jones covered the Bulldogs' best wide receiver De'Runnya Wilson and did a very nice job despite his size. He came up with a big interception in the end zone in the second half. You are looking at a much improved secondary in comparison to the one we saw in the season opener against West Virginia.

As Alabama prepares to round out the season, the two main areas of focus should be perimeter tackling and quarterback pressure. Players have struggled to wrap up and make tackles when opponents run or throw to the outside. Up front, this may be the best defensive line of the Saban era talent wise. They just need to do a little bit better job putting pressure on the quarterback.

Another week, another Adam Griffith missed field goal, and another "B+" for Alabama's special teams. Griffith's inconsistency has caused panic in what was already a major area of concern. He drilled a 36-yard field goal in the first quarter only to miss a 37-yard attempt in the third quarter. Kickers have one of the most stressful jobs on the field and Griffith's confidence is not getting any better.

In regards to special teams, Saturday's game was the JK Scott show once again. Scott downed five of his seven punts inside the 20 yard line. A 34-yard punt that was downed on Mississippi State's 4-yard line later turned into a safety. Scott, who was named a Ray Guy semi-finalist last week, finished the day averaging just over 45 yards per punt with a long of 56 yards.