Keelon Russell keeps turning big games into a routine.
On Saturday at Mississippi State, the Alabama quarterback delivered his third straight outing with three passing touchdowns and a rushing score, powering the Crimson Tide to a 56-23 win over the Bulldogs. He finished 16 of 22 for a 72.7% completion rate, piled up 301 total yards, and once again looked like the best player on the field.
That kind of production is starting to look normal for Russell. Over his last three games - all against Power 4 competition - he has thrown for 970 yards, 10 touchdowns and no interceptions. According to 247Sports’ Mike Rodak, that surge has made him the current betting favorite for the Heisman Trophy on FanDuel Sportsbook.
Fans didn’t wait long to make their case after another huge performance. One post summed up the mood bluntly: “Bama has Keelon Russell for 2 more years at least, pray for the rest of College Football”
There isn’t a better player on the field than number 12 in Crimson and White pic.twitter.com/mwrH5z6TOy
- No Context SEC (@NoContextSEC) October 3, 2026
Others pointed to the kind of throws Russell was making all afternoon.
Keelon Russell is making some BIGTIME Throws 😳
- Coach Dan Casey (@CoachDanCasey) October 3, 2026
Keelon Russell on these back shoulder throws pic.twitter.com/vE4qWySTO2
- CFBNumbers (@CFBNumbers) October 3, 2026
Keelon Russell casually dropping this one was something.
The effortless throws from this Bama-Miss St game are at an all-time high. pic.twitter.com/JdNNmrCqyn
- Cam Mellor (@CamMellor) October 3, 2026
One fan even went a step further with the praise.
I think he was grown in a lab.
How are you born with these kinds of intangibles
- In Defense We Trust 🤺 (@hobbs_SETT) October 3, 2026
Alabama is now 5-0 overall and 3-0 in the SEC, and it could land in the top five of the next AP poll. If that happens, next week’s meeting with Georgia on Oct. 10 will become a top-five showdown.
The Crimson Tide and Bulldogs are set for a 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff on ABC.
In Other News...
Kirby Smart Seemed To Send A Message In Georgias Vanderbilt Win
Jared Curtis did not suit up in Vanderbilts recent meeting with Georgia after the quarterback, who had flipped his commitment from the Bulldogs to the Commodores last year, was injured. Georgia handled the game the way a team trying to stay in the thick of the national title race needed to, while Vanderbilt came away with its season outlook looking far less secure than the one in Athens.
Afterward, Curtis made his way toward Kirby Smart, setting up a moment that drew attention for what happened as much as what did not. Smarts body language suggested he was not eager to linger, and the interaction felt like the sort of understated sideline scene that can say plenty without anyone having to say much at all. [Read more 🡒]
Georgia Left Vanderbilt With Two Concerns Alabama Will Test
Georgia left Nashville with a win and a cleaner record, but not a clean bill of health on the details that usually travel with them into bigger games. The Bulldogs beat Vanderbilt 38-14 to move to 5-0, and Carson Beck turned in another efficient day by completing 25 of 32 passes for 295 yards and three touchdowns. Even so, the outing had the kind of uneven stretches Georgia cannot ignore when the schedule sharpens, especially with the ground game not finding much rhythm.
The defense also had its lapses, most notably on third downs, and Alabama is the sort of opponent that tends to expose those cracks quickly. Georgia did settle in after halftime and looked more like itself down the stretch, but next weekend brings a far sterner test of whether those second-half corrections can carry over. For a team that has mostly handled business through September, the trip to face Alabama now feels less like a checkpoint and more like a revealing exam. [Read more 🡒]
Kirby Smart Is Already Pressing Georgia On One Concern Before Alabama
Vanderbilt kept things interesting for a half before Georgia pulled away for a 38-14 win, scoring the final 17 points to close it out. Clark Lea had reasons to point to some progress on the Commodores side, especially in protection and the run game, while Kirby Smart came away talking about the kind of things he likes to see from his own team this time of year: conditioning, execution and the steadier finish that can matter when the schedule tightens.
Smarts focus now turns quickly to Alabama, and it sounds like he is already sharpening one concern before that matchup arrives. Even after a comfortable win, Georgia is still looking to clean up areas that can become costly against a better opponent, and Smart did not hide that there is more work to do before the next test. [Read more 🡒]