Alabama's Defensive Performance Just What the Doctor Ordered

After a rough outing at Tennessee last weekend, the Crimson Tide executed one of its best defensive performances of the season against Mississippi State.

Author:
Joey Blackwell
Updated:
Oct 23, 2022 12:08 AM EDT
Original:
Oct 22, 2022

In this story:

Alabama Crimson Tide

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — After giving up 567 yards and seven touchdowns at Tennessee last Saturday night, it was clear that Alabama's defense was going to need a dominant performance against Mississippi State on homecoming weekend in order to regain its confidence.

And what the Crimson Tide did to the Bulldogs inside Bryant-Denny Stadium was exactly what the doctor ordered.

"At some point, enough has to be enough," defensive back DeMarcco Hellams said after the game. "We're just all together — our mindset is together as a defense — and just, we can't allow things to keep compiling.

"At some point, bad plays do happen. We have to say, 'OK, that's enough. No more bad plays, no more penalties.' And just playing more consistently as a defense and as a team."

Alabama was nothing short of stellar on defense in the first half, holding Mississippi State to zero points and just 140 total yards through the first 30 minutes. A whopping 10 pass breakups alongside three sacks and four quarterback hurries limited head coach Mike Leach and Bulldogs quarterback Will Rogers to just 94 passing yards.

In the first half's final seconds, Crimson Tide linebacker Dallas Turner sacked Rogers — a perfect exclamation point to not only bring the first half to a close but also summarize the performance of Alabama's defenders thus far.

In the second half, the Crimson Tide didn't let up — at least, not until the Bulldogs' final drive.

"We just did some things different after we got started and saw that they were running the ball," Alabama head coach Nick Saban said. "So we stopped the run pretty well after that. I'm pleased with the way we played on defense."

In total over the final 30 minutes, Mississippi State recorded 153 yards. Rogers was sacked once more, with 137 of those second-half yards resulting from his arm.

The Bulldogs scored a touchdown in garbage time as the final seconds ticked off the clock, preventing the Crimson Tide from claiming a shutout. Even discounting the points, though, and the night was a very impressive bounce-back defensive performance.

That being said, Alabama's defense was disappointed that it couldn't keep Mississippi State's side of the scoreboard blank.

"It's all about finishing," Hellams said. "It doesn't matter what the scoreboard [says]. To us, the scoreboard is always 0-0. So you know, whenever somebody gets in the end zone, that's always something that we don't want to allow. It doesn't matter if it's the last play of the game. It doesn't matter. We always want to keep the opponent out of the end zone."

Over the course of the game, Mississippi State converted just 7-of-22 times on third down and converted 3-of-6 attempts on fourth down. Including the Bulldogs' lone touchdown, Mississippi State reached the red zone on just two occasions and finished 1-of-2.

Alabama defenders finished with six tackles for loss including four sacks. Seven quarterback hurries were a testament to the Crimson Tide's pass rush, and a remarkable 15 pass breakups reflected the solid night had by Alabama's defensive backs.

The Crimson Tide is on bye this next week before taking back-to-back road trips to LSU and then Ole Miss. Both the Tigers and the Rebels present some serious challenges on offense that Alabama must prepare for.

While the Tennessee game provided a worrying view of how far the defense could fall, Saturday's win over Mississippi State shows just how good the Crimson Tide's defense can be — particularly if its pass defense is in tip-top shape.

"They gave up six points — I think that's pretty good," Saban said jokingly. "I'd let a team run the ball all day long if they only get six points."