Will Alabama-Mississippi State Be Highest Point Total of DeBoer Era? Just a Minute

Welcome to BamaCentral’s "Just a Minute," a video series featuring Alabama Crimson Tide on SI's beat writers. Multiple times per week, the writers will group up or film solo to provide their take on a topic concerning the Crimson Tide or the landscape of college sports.

Watch the above video as BamaCentral basketball and football writer Hunter De Siver discusses Alabama's highest-scoring games since 2024 ahead of its road matchup at Mississippi State.

Alabama has had its fair share of shootouts and high-scoring games since head coach Kalen DeBoer arrived in 2024, but this Saturday's matchup at No. 16 Mississippi State could be a historic onslaught of points for both teams.

The No. 7 Crimson Tide is third in the country in points per game with 48.0. Alabama is the first FBS program since 2019 to score 45-plus points in each of its first four games. That said, head coach Jeff Lebby and the Bulldogs have also dominated offensively, as their 43.0 points per game ranks eighth in the nation. Through four games, Mississippi State's lowest score was 31 points last week in a win over then-No. 19 Missouri.

So, will this be the highest-scoring game of the DeBoer era — 86 combined points between Alabama and Florida State on Sept. 19?

Well, let's start with the fact that Alabama will be traveling to this 11 a.m. kickoff game during that same morning. With a police escort, it'll probably take the Crimson Tide a little over an hour to arrive at Davis Wade Stadium, shaving off about 20 minutes. Multiple players said on Tuesday that they're used to waking up very early for practice, and implied that this unique travel plan won't impact their performance.

Next, some rain is expected during the game under a cloudy sky with temperatures in the low 80s. The players didn't mention on Tuesday if they've been practicing with a wet ball, but Alabama has done that in the past under DeBoer. Rain can impact the performance of both teams, especially when the ball is in the air.

And that brings us to the main headline of Saturday: Alabama quarterback Keelon Russell against Mississippi State quarterback Kamario Taylor. These sophomores have become some of the most popular names in the sport over the past month, and that's due to their strong, accurate arms, but also their electric dual-threat abilities. Taylor and Russell are second and third, respectively, in the SEC in passing yards in part due to the playmakers surrounding them.

All this said, I see this definitely being a high-scoring matchup, maybe one of the top-5 since DeBoer was hired. But the 86 combined points might be too much to beat. Everyone will have their eyes on the offenses, but that only gives the defenses, both of which are very talented, more motivation to shine.

11 Highest-Scoring Games of the Kalen DeBoer Era

(Point total, winner/loser score, date)

86: Alabama 50, Florida State 36 (Sept. 19, 2026)
75: Vanderbilt 40, Alabama 35 (Oct. 5, 2024)
75: Alabama 41, Georgia 34 (Sept. 28, 2024
73: Alabama 73, ULM 0 (Sept. 6, 2025)
67: Alabama 49, South Carolina 18 (Sept. 26, 2026)
63: Alabama 63, Western Kentucky 0 (Aug. 31, 2024)
62: Alabama 45, Kentucky 17 (Sept. 12, 2026)
59: Alabama 52, Mercer 7 (Nov. 16, 2024)
58: Alabama 48, East Carolina 10 (Sept. 5, 2026)
58: Alabama 34, Oklahoma 24 (Dec. 19, 2025)
58: Alabama 42, South Florida 16 (Sept. 7, 2024)
57: Alabama 37, Tennessee 20 (Oct. 18, 2025)
56: Alabama 56, Eastern Illinois 0 (Nov. 22, 2025)
55: Alabama 42, LSU 13 (Nov. 9, 2024)

Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Twitter/X, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok for the latest news.

Add us as a preferred source on Google