Alabama entered Saturday’s game with Mississippi State with several more questions that needed answering. Here is how the Crimson Tide answered them.
1. How motivated is Alabama?
Highly. After last week’s disappointing loss to LSU and its national title hopes taking a hit, Alabama came out determined and did just about everything right in cruising to the win. The only big miscues were a few personal foul penalties.
2. How well will Tua play?
Tua Tagovailoa’s ankle wasn’t the concern this time. Instead, he went down with a hip injury late in the second quarter. He was having an exceptional game, going 14 of 18 for 256 yards and two touchdowns.
3. Can the defense bounce back?
Yes. Giving up more than 500 yards last week to LSU obviously didn’t sit well with Alabama. The Bulldogs were ineffective against a fierce, competitive Tide defense that allowed just 82 passing yards.
4. Najee Harris or Kylin Hill?
Hill, the Bulldogs’ and the SEC’s leading rusher, was limited to just 41 rushing yards with a touchdown on 16 carries. His longest run was for seven yards. Alabama’s Harris ran for 88 yards with three touchdowns and also had 53 receiving yards with another score.
