Three Storylines I'm Watching Most in Alabama's Week 5 Matchup at Mississippi State

No. 7 Alabama (4-0, 2-0 SEC) travels to Starkville, Mississippi this weekend to take on the No. 16 Mississippi State Bulldogs (4-0, 2-0 SEC) for the first meeting between the two teams with both ranked inside the top 20 since 2018.

The game will feature two of the most exciting young quarterbacks in college football with an early kickoff on ABC. Kalen DeBoer will coach his first game inside Davis Wade Stadium as Jeff Lebby looks to pick up the signature win of his Mississippi State tenure so far.

Here are three of the biggest storylines I'm keeping an eye on heading into Saturday's game:

How much will the weather affect what both offenses want to do?

Alabama quarterback Keelon Russell and Mississippi State quarterback Kamario Taylor are the center of attention for this Saturday's matchup, but will the two star quarterbacks get to play the type of game they want to play?

The weather forecasts are projecting a lot of rain in Starkville on Saturday. Things can change of course, but if the forecasts hold up, it will make throwing the ball a lot more challenging for two of the top passing offenses in the country.

This has the potential to be a high-scoring matchup, but the weather could end up playing a major role. The Crimson Tide and Bulldogs both have good options at running back. Mississippi State's Fluff Boutwell is second in the SEC with 402 rush yards on the season.

Alabama has approached the position more like running back by committee with Daniel Hill, EJ Crowell and Trae'shawn Brown all getting a decent amount of carries. Each of the Tide's first four games have had a different leading rusher.

Who will win the turnover battle?

With young sophomore quarterbacks leading both offenses and potential bad weather, whoever wins the turnover battle will be in a great position to win the game.

So far, Alabama has been much better at creating takeaways with nine on the season comparied to just two for Mississippi State. The Crimson Tide offense hasn't turned the ball over in the last two games against Florida State and South Carolina, but the first time Alabama went on the road at Kentucky, the Tide had three total turnovers, all from Russell.

The Bulldogs offense has done a good job protecting the ball with just two fumbles and one interception through the first four games. Alabama's defense has forced six interceptions, and if its "Swarm D" can bait Taylor into an interception or two, it would be a huge boost on the road.

Can Alabama defense limit explosive pass plays?

Before last week's game against South Carolina, I asked if the Tide defense would be able to stop explosive plays from Gamecocks wide receiver Nyck Harbor. He only had three catches for 42 yards, but one of those catches was a 41-yard touchdown, so I wouldn't say that Alabama was completely successful.

'Now, the unit will be facing a Mississippi State offense led by Taylor that is No. 4 in the country in pass plays of 10+ yards and No. 7 in pass plays of 20+ yards.

Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack said Taylor is the best quarterback he's seen since arriving in Tuscaloosa prior to the 2024 season.

"Just his ability to create explosives in the passing game, finding throws in the RPO game, the off-schedule plays that he makes, not only with his feet in the run game, but also he does a great job of of keeping his eyes downfield and creating explosive passes through extending plays with his feet as well," Wommack said. "So I think he's had, you know, three touchdowns passes in every game that he's played. He's had an explosive pass touchdown in every game, and he's playing about as good as I have seen a guy play."

A big pass play is like the fuse that lights the dynamite of a home crowd. Alabama will be putting itself in a really tough spot if it allows Taylor to make multiple explosive plays.

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