Alabama holds Bulldogs’ dangerous running back to 81 yards

STARKVILLE, Miss. | Against a running back who has made a routine of posting 100-yard games this season, a University of Alabama run defense that has made a habit of preventing 100-yard rushers found a supreme challenge Saturday in Mississippi State’s Anthony Dixon.

Challenge met.

Dixon, who entered having rushed for at least 100 yards in seven of nine games this season, rushed for 81 against the nation’s second-ranked run defense as Alabama rolled to a 31-3 victory at Davis-Wade Stadium.

“Defensively, we had a lot of respect for their ability to run the ball and I was pleased with the way we stopped it for the most part,” UA coach Nick Saban said. “A couple runs got out, Anthony Dixon’s a really good running back, and Rolando McClain did a great job. … We did a good job of making adjustments.”

According to UA media notes, Alabama has not allowed a 100-yard rusher since Ole Miss’ Benjarvus Green-Ellis rushed for 131 yards in 2007, making for a streak of 29 consecutive games. Dixon threatened the streak, having compiled 71 yards by the end of the third quarter, but with the Bulldogs trailing by a wide margin, MSU went to the air offensively for most of the final quarter.

Alabama’s run defense ranked second only to Texas in the NCAA entering play Saturday, allowing just 68.2 yards per game. That average will climb slightly after MSU managed 114 total rushing yards, but given the Bulldogs averaged 219 yards per game on the ground themselves, the Crimson Tide’s effort against the run was more than sound.

“That’s what our motto is, stop the run and make them one-dimensional. For us to come in and stop everybody less than 100 yards, that’s a huge part of our defense,” linebacker Cory Reamer said. “It really helps us to scheme up things. We can run a lot of different stuff if we know we can stop the run. And we’ve faced a lot of good rushers.”

In fact, Mississippi State’s rushing total against Alabama was its second-lowest of the season.

“They did a really good job in the first half of making us go three and out,’ Mullen added. “We had four three-and-outs in the first half. I think that really took some sting out of our offense. … Anthony rushed for 81 yards. He was pretty solid against a defense of that caliber. We knew going into this that we would have to take some shots outside and would have to come down with the plays. That is what you have to do against good defenses.”

Reach Chase Goodbread at chase.goodbread@tuscaloosanews.com, or at 205-722-0196