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Don’t look now, but only 2 SEC West teams remain undefeated in conference play. Rumors of the Alabama football program’s demise have been greatly exaggerated.
The Tide’s 40-17 victory at Mississippi State on Saturday keeps them 1 of just 2 teams left without a conference loss. The other is Texas A&M, Alabama’s next opponent. We’ll dissect the Tide’s trip to College Station all week.
On Saturday, the Tide took care of business.
No, Alabama is not the well-oiled machine we’re used to seeing from Nick Saban. Good to see the GOAT still has the fire in his belly, that means there’s still an opportunity for this team to grow into and fall in line with those dominating teams from years gone by.
Player of the Week: Jalen Milroe
The Alabama QB did it all Saturday night. In addition to leading the Tide in rushing with 69 yards on 11 carries, including a pair of rushing touchdowns, he also threw for 164 yards, completing 10-of-12 passes without an interception.
The game plan was crystal clear: Dominate the line of scrimmage and run the football. In other words, play to Milroe’s strengths.
Milroe ran 11 times for 69 yards. The Tide ran 43 times for 193 yards.
Milroe dropped in some nice passes and continues to develop as a complete quarterback for Alabama.
Freshman of the Week: DB Caleb Downs
The 6-0, 203-pound DB from Hoschton, Ga., continues to be a leader on defense. On Saturday the 5-star top-rated safety in the Class of 2023 recorded 13 total tackles, including 5 solo and came up with 1 of Alabama’s 3 interceptions off Bulldogs QB Will Rogers.
True freshman 5⭐️ S Caleb Downs, the No. 1 S in the Class of 2023, records his first collegiate interception ?pic.twitter.com/JJ8D4UKnZ7
— 247Sports (@247Sports) October 1, 2023
Biggest surprise: Rogers shut down
Yes, the system is different and Will Rogers, Mississippi State’s All-Everything quarterback is having to learn all over again. But the Alabama defense practically shut him down. In addition to sacking the Bulldogs’ QB 4 times, it totaled 5 QB hurries.
Rogers threw for just 107 yards, the 2nd-lowest of his illustrious career since his first game back in 2020. Both of those lows have come this season. The other was a 103-yard performance 2 weeks ago in a loss to LSU.
Biggest concern: Slow start
The Tide started slow on the road Saturday. Although it didn’t hurt them in the long run, starting slow can put a team behind and playing catch up from there on out. In their first 2 drives, the Tide went 4-and-out, and 3-and-out.
Fortunately, the Tide defense reciprocated, forcing a pair of 3-and-outs in the Bulldogs’ first 2 possessions. From there the Tide offense cranked up and scored in each of their next 5 possessions.
Developing trend: Milroe is becoming a timely passing threat
He won’t make it to the top of the SEC passing stats, but the redshirt sophomore continues to improve his passing game. We already know what Milroe can do with his feet, but he has shown a propensity for completing passes as well.
On Saturday, Alabama absolutely established the run first, but Milroe also connected on his first 8 attempts. Going back to the previous game against Ole Miss, that brought Milroe’s consecutive pass completions to 14. Not bad for a QB who isn’t considered a passing threat.
But Mississippi State might have a different view now after Milroe threw for 164 yards, completing 10-of-12 passes. That was in addition to rushing for 69 yards and 2 TDs on 11 carries. Over the past 2 games, Milroe has completed 31-of-39 passes for 389 yards and, most important, just 1 interception.
Key stat: Turnovers
The Tide did not turn the ball over while collecting 3 Bulldogs’ turnovers, all interceptions. It made a big difference in the game. Alabama converted those takeaways into 14 points to pull away.
First impression about Week 6: Battle for SEC West supremacy
It will be a battle of the only 2 SEC West teams that remain undefeated in conference play. Both have identical records of 4-1 overall and 2-0 in SEC play. The game at Kyle Field in College Station is scheduled to kick off at 2:30 p.m. CT Saturday.
A loss will unofficially eliminate the loser from the Playoff race (there’s never been a 2-loss team in the field).
The winner sits all alone atop the SEC West and controls its fate the rest of the way.
Glenn Sattell is an award-winning freelance writer for Saturday Down South.
