Photo courtesy of UA Athletics Communications.
The omen came early, as Alabama took up the first 8:01 of the game on a 14-play drive, and only came away with three points.
Those three points would end up being the only three points of a sloppy first quarter where Alabama failed to gain four yards per play and was held to two yards per carry.
“How we played today really is my responsibility,” Alabama head coach Nick Saban said. “We didn’t get them prepared to play, didn’t get them mentally focused, but I also think you have to give the other team credit.”
Linebacker C.J. Mosley added, “We messed up a few adjustments in walkthrough, and that’s when you can tell when guys are ready to play or not.”
Credit where credit was due had a lot to do with it, even if that meant possibly giving LSU credit for placing Alabama in a dreaded hangover game.
The Tide did not buy it.
“That’s not an excuse,” wide receiver Christion Jones said. “Even if there was, that’s not an excuse. It was a tough game last week, but this was a tough game, too. And the next week is going to be a tough game.”
It was forced to buy the physicality of the Bulldog defensive line early, an attitude that had Alabama on its heels early.
“It’s hard to say,” Alabama offensive lineman Anthony Steen said. “Sometimes they just made the right call: they were lined up perfect for what we were running and it was more of just who won the battle up front. We had our ups and downs and we took a while to warm up, but luckily we won the game.”
The turning point came as the torturous first half was coming to a close. Starting with the ball on their own 22-yard line with 2:49 left until halftime, Alabama running back T.J. Yeldon gashed the defense with a 50-yard carry to start the drive that would end five plays later with an 18-yard touchdown pass from quarterback AJ McCarron to tight end Brian Vogler.
Scoring, and doing it the way they did it on the way to the first two-possession lead of the game, was the starting point for more ball movement from that point forward.
“I think it was the momentum,” Steen said. “Once we got going, we kind of got in our groove.”
That groove included Alabama tallying nearly as many yards in the third quarter (162) as it did in both quarters of the first half (170) and leading a 77-yard touchdown drive after a turnover and a Mississippi State score.
“It’s always good to win an SEC game, especially on the road,” Saban said. “We typically struggle when we come over here and play and you have to give Mississippi State’s players and coaches a lot of credit. They had a good plan, they played very physical out there.”
