Alabama takes on Mississippi State in a Week 5 road matchup with major SEC West title race implications. While the Bulldogs are not expected to upset the Crimson Tide, the team could give Saban’s squad some trouble.
As the SEC West race narrows down to only a few teams, every single game matters. Even if Alabama wins, fans, analysts, and other teams will be watching to see if the Tide are actually back, or if the inconsistencies and weak offensive play persist through the fifth week of the season.
ESPN’s Bill Connelly (subscription required) writes this of the matchup after listing it as SEC West title race matchup to watch.
“It’s hard to make a strong case that Bama will struggle in Starkville. The Tide do have a pretty lengthy injury list — among others, leading tackler Deontae Lawson is questionable — but for all of Bama’s early-season offensive struggles, Mississippi State’s defense currently ranks 117th in success rate allowed and 101st in points allowed per drive. Plus, there’s the whole ‘Bama’s won its past seven games in Starkville by an average score of 32-9’ thing.”
Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow Alabama football as the 2023 season progresses.