Alabama looking to rebound after tough loss
The no. 12 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide and defending Bowl Championship Series (BCS) champions are looking to get back into contention in the South Eastern Conference (SEC) after a tough loss against the Louisiana State University (LSU) Tigers, 24-21.
On Saturday 13 November, they will be at home against the no. 19 ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs who are coming off a win against the Kentucky Wildcats, 24-17.
Mississippi State’s season so far
The Bulldogs opened the season with an impressive offensive output against Memphis, scoring 49 points, but followed up that performance with two losses against ranked and conference foes Auburn and LSU. They have been on a six-game winning streak
since their loss to LSU, but five of those six victories have come against unranked opponents.
"We have pretty high expectations of ourselves and expectations of how we want our season to be. We've been successful to a point so far, so that would be a natural deal for us to improve on that success and continue on our good year," Bulldogs head coach
Dan Mullen said to the Associated Press.
Alabama’s previous games
The Crimson Tide started out their season 5-0, winning over three ranked opponents in those first five victories. In week six, they battled the previously no. 19 ranked South Carolina Gamecocks and lost 35-21. They followed up their first loss of
the season with a victory over Ole Miss, and then the following week over the Tennessee Volunteers. The defence only allowed 20 combined points in both victories, instilling more fear into their opponent’s offence.
Despite their 41-10 victory over the Volunteers, last weekend’s loss to LSU was the most demoralizing loss of the season for the Crimson Tide.
"It feels like the end of the world, it really does," Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy said to the Associated Press.
Keys to the game
The Bulldogs are the definition of a one dimensional offence. They rank 14th in the nation in the rushing game, averaging 218.7 yards per game. They have been on a platoon system with their running game, using junior running back Vick
Ballard, who is averaging 6.7 yards per carry, while the second half of the running game is another junior in Chris Relf, who is also the quarterback. He is averaging 4.1 yards per carry and has scored three touchdowns with his legs alone.
However, Relf’s passing will be exposed for what it is, as he has only thrown for 926 yards so far this season, giving his air attack a national ranking of 101st.
The Crimson Tide defence, which is one of the best in the country, only allows an average of 13.8 points per game. Their offence is also very well rounded, ranking in the top 40 of both the rushing and passing categories. They will need to rebound from their
loss last week, and jump right out of the gate against the Bulldogs.
The Crimson Tide’s opportunity to repeat as BCS championships has all but dwindled down to a spark, but they still need to win out the rest of their season to have a chance at the SEC championship game, most likely against Auburn.
"All is not lost with this team. We just have to regulate our confidence and be able to go out there and execute consistently. That's really what's separated this year's team from last year's team, just not being as consistent as we were." McElroy said to
the Associated Press.
Prediction
The early point spread on this game has the Crimson Tide -14, which should be considered outrageous considering that Mississippi State has been playing great football recently.
If you play the spread, take the Bulldogs and hope that the Alabama defence struggles to defend the run, but if you play it straight up then it should be Alabama all the way.
ROLL TIDE!
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