Alabama left Saturday with a clearer picture of what it can be, and Keelon Russell was right at the center of it.
The quarterback looked like the best player on the field against Mississippi State, piling up 285 passing yards, three passing touchdowns and a rushing score. Russell kept stacking big throws, and the performance gave him another four-touchdown outing to build on. With the way he’s trending, Alabama has every reason to believe he could fully arrive next week against Georgia.
The Tide also showed off the kind of backfield depth that can make life miserable for defenses. There’s no clean answer yet for who will carry the load from week to week - Trae’shawn Brown, Daniel Hill or EJ Crowell - because all of them can factor in.
This time it was Brown doing the heavy lifting. He ran for 66 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries, while Crowell added 49 yards on just three attempts.
On defense, freshman Xavier Griffin kept making his presence felt while Xavier Griffin and Desmond Umeozulu remain sidelined. He moved around the field, found the ball in different spots and finished as Alabama’s leading tackler with nine. Griffin also recorded a sack, a tackle for loss and a quarterback hurry.
The biggest defensive note may have been the response up front. After South Carolina had its way on the ground, Alabama shut Mississippi State down to 18 rushing yards. That kind of bounce-back matters, especially with Georgia coming next and a run game that rarely goes away.
In Other News...
Bryce Underwoods Struggles Leave Michigan With An Uncomfortable Week 5 Reality
Keelon Russells rise has become one of the more notable developments around Alabamas early-season start, and the quarterbacks recent stretch has only sharpened the attention. After throwing four touchdowns in the spring game and then piling up 10 passing touchdowns and 970 yards over three games, he has helped steady a team that rolled to a 56-23 win and moved to 5-0.
For Alabama, that kind of production matters not just in the standings but in the broader SEC picture, where quarterback play can change the feel of a season quickly. Around the country, other programs were dealing with their own storylines in Week 5, but Russells emergence has given Alabama a promising answer at the position and left the rest of the league watching what comes next. [Read more 🡒]
Alabama Has A Real Shot To Climb After Saturdays Top 25 Chaos
Saturdays college football slate did Alabama a favor, even before the next AP Top 25 poll gets posted. USC barely survived an upset scare, Ohio State and Missouri both had results worth watching, and a few teams around the country did enough to create the kind of weekend that tends to shake up the middle and upper tiers of the rankings.
For Alabama, the bigger point is simple: the Crimson Tide have a real path to move up if the voters decide the chaos mattered as much as the resumes. The poll will be refreshed soon, and with conference play still unfolding, there is a decent chance the order gets jumbled in a way that opens the door for Alabama to climb if enough teams ahead of it wobble. [Read more 🡒]
Alabama Answered Nick Saban With The Identity Fans Wanted To See
Against a Mississippi State team that had already lost running back Fluff Bothwell early, Alabama took control and never let go in a 56-23 win that had the game settled by the third quarter. The Tides defense was active all afternoon, piling up sacks and tackles for loss while the offense built a lead that reflected a team playing on its front foot.
For a program that has spent so much of the fall being measured against its own standard, this was the kind of response Kalen DeBoer had to like. He praised Alabamas physicality afterward, and the performance offered the clearest hint yet of the identity fans have been waiting to see - one built less on style points than on contact, discipline and a defense that can set the tone. [Read more 🡒]