EDITORIAL BY GRAYDON FOX

Overview:

On Saturday, November 10^th, the (6-3) Mississippi State Bulldogs will be on the road to take on the (9-0) Alabama Crimson Tide.

The Crowd:

The Crowd projects a final score of Alabama 41.9 – Mississippi State 17.1 with an over/under of 59.0.

Lou Holtz and Mark May:

Lou is predicting a final score of Alabama 31 – Mississippi State 17.

Mark is predicting a final score of Alabama 44 – Mississippi State 26.

2018-19 Statistics (130 total teams):

Passing offense: Alabama 341.6 YPG > Mississippi State 187.0 YPG

Rushing offense: Mississippi State 230.8 YPG > Alabama 224.0 YPG

Scoring offense: Alabama 51.3 PPG > Mississippi State 29.1 PPG

Scoring defense: Mississippi State 12.3 PPG > Alabama 14.1 PPG

Passing defense: Mississippi State 167.2 YPG > Alabama 193.3 YPG

Rushing defense: Alabama 102.1 YPG > Mississippi State 111.4 YPG

Turnover Margin Per Game: Alabama +1.2 > Mississippi State +0.1

Summary:

Mississippi State is (6-3) with wins over Stephen F. Austin, Kansas State, Louisiana, #8 Auburn, #16 Texas A&M, and Louisiana Tech.  They were defeated by Kentucky, Florida, and #5 LSU.  Mississippi State trounced Louisiana Tech 45-3 last week as quarterback Nick Fitzgerald totaled 350 yards and 4 touchdowns. The Bulldogs rank 66^th in points per game (29.1) and 2^nd in scoring defense (12.3 PPG).  For the season, Fitzgerald has completed 50% of his passes for 1,252 yards with 10 touchdowns to 7 interceptions.  Fitzgerald is a dangerous threat on the ground as he leads the team in rushing with 839 yards and 9 touchdowns.  Running back Kylin Hill has rushed for 536 yards and 3 touchdowns.  The Bulldogs’ defense ranks 7^th against the pass (167.2 YPG) and 18^th against the run (111.4 YPG).

Alabama is a perfect (9-0) with victories over Louisville, Arkansas State, Ole Miss, #22 Texas A&M, Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, and #3 LSU.  For all the talk about their offense, Alabama’s defense was flat out dominant in last week’s 29-0 win over #3 LSU.  The Crimson Tide rank 1^st in points per game (51.3) and 7^th in scoring defense (14.1 PPG).  Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is the Heisman frontrunner completing 68% of his passes for 2,361 yards with 27 touchdowns to 1 interception.  The running back duo of Damien Harris and Najee Harris has combined for 1,114 yards and 10 touchdowns.  Jerry Jeudy leads the team in receiving with 880 yards (22.6 YPC) and 10 touchdowns.  Tagovailoa certainly has no shortage of weapons as Alabama has five receivers with over 400 yards.  The Crimson Tide defense ranks 30^th against the pass (193.3 YPG) and 11^th against the run (102.1 YPG).  Alabama has the 5^th best turnover margin in the country (+1.2).

Bottom Line:

In their three losses against (top 30 defenses) Kentucky, Florida, and LSU, Mississippi State totaled just 16 points.  Mississippi State is devoid of playmakers outside of Nick Fitzgerald and will be exposed against an Alabama defense that just shut out LSU.  Alabama will wear down Mississippi State’s front with their ground attack over the course of the game which will open up the vertical passing game for Tagovailoa.

Alabama wins 36-14

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