Alabama moved to 6-0 on Saturday night in a 41-0 blowout against the Mississippi State Bulldogs. There were a few lulls throughout the game without points, but overall, it was a solid performance.
The Alabama defense was absolutely dominate throughout. They held Mississippi State to only 200 yards of offense and only allowed them to convert on 2-of-12 third-down attempts (16.7 percent).
The Crimson Tide only came up with two sacks (Christopher Allen, Phidarian Mathis), but they also racked up eight quarterback pressures. The pressure, for the most part, was absolutely there.
In fact, that pressure was a major reason why Alabama was able to force two interceptions, one of which was returned for a score.
Alabama’s offense only managed seven points in the second half, but an explosive 27-point first half helped make maintaining that blowout victory possible.
Mac Jones was 24-of-31 (77.4 percent) for 291 yards and four scores. That is good for 9.4 yards per attempt. His favorite target with Jaylen Waddle was senior DeVonta Smith, who hauled in 11 of the 24 completions for 203 yards and all four touchdowns.
This was the second time in Smith’s career that he put up four or more receiving touchdowns in a single game. Unsurprisingly, that is a SEC record.
Another notable aspect of the game was the impact from some of the freshmen.
Outside linebacker Will Anderson Jr. had five tackles, two tackles for loss and two quarterback pressures. He consistently showed burst and explosiveness of the snap while also flashing elite bend when putting pressure on the quarterback.
Defesive back Malachi Moore led the team in tackles with eight. He also added a tackle for loss and two pass breakups while providing multiple underrated plays against the Bulldogs.
Offensively, redshirt freshman running back Trey Sanders finally got things going on the ground. Najee Harris led the team in carries (21) and rushing yards (119), but Sanders had a better yards-per-carry mark (6.7 versus 5.7 for Harris).
On the night, Sanders turned 12 carries into 80 yards.
Alabama will be off next Saturday before traveling to LSU on Nov. 14 to take on the Tigers in Baton Rouge. After another loss by LSU to Auburn, the game won’t have the same level of excitement as last year’s matchup, but it will still be a chance for revenge.
Follow Clint Lamb on Twitter @ClintRLamb.