Gameday picture · Week 5 · SEC
BAMA at MSST
Sat, Oct 3 · TBD · Davis Wade
Desk line: Alabama −13.5, total 58.5. Market not locked. Road SEC after a 50-point home night. Taylor just hung 4 TDs on a Power-4 defense. The FSU secondary tape is the problem if it travels.
Spread
BAMA -13.5
Market desk line
Total
58.5
Win
78%
Mississippi State
22
desk projection
Crimson Tide
36
Desk implied 36–23 · BAMA −520 / MSST +380
Kick weather
78°F
Starkville night · lo 58°F
20% precip
Window
TBD
Sat Oct 3 at Davis Wade. Kick TBD. First true road SEC after Kentucky.
Lebby tempo in Starkville
Unit matchups
Quarterback
BAMA 8 · 7 MSST
Russell vs Kamario Taylor. Taylor just threw 4 TDs in Columbia.
Running backs
BAMA 8 · 7 MSST
Hill vs Fluff Bothwell (115 vs SC). Two productive rooms.
Receivers
BAMA 8 · 6 MSST
Brooks / Coleman-Williams vs Magee / Ragins. Don't sleep on the 43-yard shot.
Front seven
BAMA 7 · 6 MSST
Wommack vs Lebby tempo. The FSU leak has to be closed by then.
Secondary
BAMA 6 · 7 MSST
Taylor 18-of-24, 251, 4 TD. This is the first real coverage test on the road.
Special teams
BAMA 7 · 6 MSST
Talty vs a stadium that lives on third-down noise.
Players to watch
- MSST
Kamario Taylor QB
Taylor 4 TD passes in the SEC opener. Dual-threat.
- MSST
Fluff Bothwell RB
Bothwell 115 vs SC. Second straight 100-yard game.
- MSST
Sanfrisco Magee WR
Magee 30-yard TD. Ragins 43-yard TD.
- MSST
Zion Ragins DB
43-yard TD vs SC. Windows have to close.
- BAMA
Keelon Russell QB
Taylor 4 TD passes in the SEC opener. Dual-threat.
- BAMA
Daniel Hill RB
Bothwell 115 vs SC. Second straight 100-yard game.
Key injuries
- out
Jeremiah Beaman DL · BAMA
Torn ACL, late-August practice. Out for the season.
- out
Noah Rogers WR · BAMA
A-Day injury. DeBoer still had him in a return window as of FSU week.
- questionable
AK Dear RB · BAMA
Ankle. Missed ECU, Kentucky, and FSU. Week-to-week after that.
- available
Aubrey Walker WR · BAMA
Full go.
- available
Keelon Russell QB · BAMA
23-of-30, 320, 3 TD plus a 57-yard rush score vs FSU. Full go.
Opponent injury report not cited yet.
What the tape says
- Taylor's first throw was a pick vs SC. Don't gift the reset.
- Bothwell on first down. If it's 2nd-and-3 all night, tempo wins.
- Russell on schedule. Starkville punishes three-and-outs.
History
- Mississippi State 3–0, 1–0 SEC after rallying from 16–0 down at South Carolina.
- Lebby tempo is the identity. Taylor is the engine.
- Alabama's last Davis Wade trips have been about surviving the noise, not the ranking.
Efficiency Matchup packet not loaded for this game.
Roster advantage · vs Mississippi State
BAMA holds the two-deep
Starter-vs-starter grades for Jeff Lebby's Mississippi State. Tap a card for stats and reasoning.
Net grade
+8
7 BAMA · 0 even · 1 MSST