How and what to watch for Mississippi State vs. No. 2 Alabama

The No. 2 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide will be looking to continue their reign over the SEC when they take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs Saturday at 7:00 p.m. ET in Tuscaloosa, AL.

The Crimson Tide (5-0) is coming off a dominating 48-17 victory over the Tennessee Volunteers last Saturday. Junior quarterback Mac Jones had another solid performance, completing 80.6 percent of his passes for 387 yards and had a rushing touchdown. Despite not throwing a touchdown, Jones targeted wide receivers John Metchie III, Slade Bolden, and Devonta Smith often.

All three wide receivers will have to take their game to another level as Alabama lost standout Jaylen Waddle for the rest of the season with an ankle injury. Metchie led all receivers last week with seven receptions for 151 yards, Bolden had six receptions for 94 yards, and Smith produced seven receptions for 73 yards.

Senior running back Najee Harris carried a majority of the scoring for the Crimson Tide with 96 rushing yards and three touchdowns. He was also instrumental in the receiving game with six receptions for 61 yards. Alabama should not have any problems scoring on Saturday as they are averaging 48.4 points per game, while Mississippi State is giving up 26.8 points per game to opponents.

As for the Bulldogs (1-3), they’ve been in a state of dysfunction since defeating LSU in Week 1. Mississippi State has lost three-straight games, hasn’t scored more than 14 points in those games, and will reportedly not have standout running back Kylin Hill for the rest of the season.

Overall, Mike Leach’s first season in the SEC has been less than ideal. And let’s not forget to mention that grad transfer quarterback K.J. Costello has been a turnover machine this season. Against Texas A&M two weeks ago, Costello completed 68.2 percent of his passes for 99 yards and an interception. Leach ended up benching Costello for freshman Will Rogers, who completed 83.3 percent of his passes for 120 yards and a touchdown.

Game Time/TV Channel/Streaming

You can watch Mississippi State vs. No. 2 Alabama on Saturday, October 31st at 7:00 p.m. ET on ESPN, and you can stream it via the ESPN app with a with a cable or streaming service login.

Point Spread, Totals, Odds, Trends

Point spread: Mississippi State vs. Alabama (-30.5)
Point Total: O/U 63.5
Money line: N/A

• Mississippi State is 1-4 against the spread in its last five games.
• The point total went under in six of Miss. State’s last eight games.
• Alabama is 6-3 against the spread in its last nine games.
• The point total went over in four of Alabama’s last five games.

The Best Bet

This game between Mississippi State and Alabama could be over by halftime tomorrow night. Even though the Crimson Tide do not have Jaylen Waddle, they will have an abundance of talent at WR and RB with Najee Harris. We also can’t forget Mac Jones who is playing better than both Mississippi State QBs K.J. Costello and Will Rogers. The Alabama defense will likely force a couple of turnovers too.

Pick: Over 63.5

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