After losing its first game of the season a week ago against Texas A&M, Alabama is positioning itself for a bounce-back win against Mississippi State.
With a big emphasis put on the passing attack from Bulldogs quarterback Will Rogers, the Crimson Tide defense stepped up early in the first half with a pair of interceptions from cornerback Josh Jobe and safety Jordan Battle who returned his 40 yards for a touchdown.
Jobe’s interception also led to a scoring drive as well with quarterback Bryce Young connecting with wide receiver John Metchie for a 46-yard score.
Alabama’s front put a ton of pressure on Rogers throughout the first half with a multitude of blitzes which resulted in four first-half sacks. Outside linebacker Will Anderson had solid first half in his own right as he accumulated four tackles, 2.0 sacks, 2.0 tackles for loss and one pass breakup.
Despite the boost given from the defense, Alabama’s offense appeared stagnant at times, especially on the ground.
Running back Brian Robinson wasn’t quite as dominant as he was in previous weeks as he posted 46 rushing yards against the Mississippi State defense and other than Metchie the rest of Alabama’s receivers were held in check in the first half.
Metchie ended the half with five catches for 97 yards and a touchdown, with the only other Alabama receiver having more than 10 receiving yards being Traeshon Holden with 19.
Young wasn’t finding very many open targets downfield which resulted in a number of checkdown passes ultimately leading to two first-half punts from James Burnip.
First Quarter:
-Alabama DB Josh Jobe INT, 12:56
-Alabama QB Bryce Young 46-yard TD pass to WR John Metchie, 10:34
-Miss State K Brandon Ruiz 44 yard FG, 6:52
-Alabama DB Jordan Battle 40-yard INT return for a TD, 3:54
Second Quarter:
-Alabama RB Brian Robinson 1 yard TD run, 3:15
-Miss State K Brandon Ruiz 37-yard FG, 0:59
Alabama goes to the half leading Mississippi State 21-3 and will receive the second half kick.
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Patrick Dowd is a Reporter for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter, via Pat_Dowd77
