Alabama left Starkville with a 56-23 win and plenty to like, but the Crimson Tide also walked out of Mississippi State with a clear reminder: Georgia will punish the little stuff.
That matters because Saturday night in Tuscaloosa is shaping up as a game where Alabama may need to be nearly spotless. Georgia is the toughest opponent Alabama has seen this season, and maybe the toughest one it will see all year, playoff included. If the Tide bring the same sloppiness they showed against Mississippi State, the margin for error disappears fast.
The first fix is the most obvious one: Alabama has to stop giving the ball away.
Even though Alabama finished +2 in turnover margin thanks to Kane Wommack’s defense forcing four Mississippi State turnovers, the Tide still coughed it up twice themselves. Those mistakes helped keep the game tighter than it should have been.
Early in the second quarter, with Alabama up 21-7, a pass went off Lotzeir Brooks’ fingertips and turned into a punt instead of a touchdown. Then, after the defense forced a Mississippi State punt, Dijon Lee muffed it and the Bulldogs recovered.
Alabama got the ball right back when Zabien Brown forced and recovered a fumble, only for Daniel Hill to fumble two plays later. Mississippi State turned that into a touchdown and cut the lead to seven.
That didn’t ruin a 33-point win. But it could wreck a much closer one. Alabama is not going to separate from Georgia by that kind of margin, and a couple of giveaways could swing the whole night.
Penalties are the next problem on the list.
Alabama had cleaned up a lot of the procedural messes in recent weeks, but Mississippi State still drew 10 flags against the Tide for 64 yards. One delay of game in the red zone wiped out a sure touchdown.
Another string of penalties pushed Alabama back to the 18 in a goal-to-go situation on the opening drive of the second half. Keelon Russell still finished the job with a touchdown pass to Rico Scott, but Georgia’s defense is unlikely to be nearly as forgiving.
If Alabama wants the kind of clean performance that can beat Georgia, it has to protect the football and stay out of the officials’ notebook.
The third issue is getting off the field when the defense gets the chance.
On paper, Alabama did some good work against Kamario Taylor and Mississippi State. The Bulldogs were just 7-of-17 on third down.
But that number doesn’t tell the whole story, because Mississippi State also converted two fourth-down tries. In all, Alabama had 17 chances to end drives and only succeeded eight times.
The run defense helped force those situations, too. Mississippi State managed only 18 rushing yards, which kept the Bulldogs behind the chains. Still, Georgia is built to do a better job staying ahead of schedule and avoiding the kind of long-yardage situations Mississippi State kept facing.
That’s what makes this such a dangerous matchup for Alabama. Two years ago, Georgia stormed back after Alabama jumped out to a 28-0 lead, and the Bulldogs did it by going 5-for-5 on fourth down in the second half. If Alabama had gotten stops when it had the chance, that game would never have gotten interesting.
That lesson is staring the Tide right in the face again.
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Greg Byrne said Holloway accepted responsibility and took the steps required to move forward, including community service, screenings and fines. For Alabama, the arrangement means Holloway can still be part of the programs long-term plans, even if the opening portion of the schedule will go by without him on the floor. [Read more 🡒]