What We Learned from Alabama's Dominant Win at Mississippi State: Tide Takeaways

STARKVILLE, Miss.–– No. 7 Alabama rolled into Starkville and quickly squashed any Bulldog hopes of a Mississippi State upset after scoring a touchdown on both offense and defense less than seven minutes into the game.

Things got a little shaky in the second quarter with two lost fumbles, but the offense and defense got back on track for the Crimson Tide to collect a 56-23 road victory over No. 16 Mississippi State.

Here are five of my biggest takeaways from the Alabama win for the latest edition of Tide Takeaways:

Keelon Russell shows huge growth from first road start

Just three weeks ago, Russell looked like a second-year quarterback making his first SEC start on the road. It was a completely different story against the Bulldogs on Saturday.

The national focus going into the top-20 matchup was the showcase of the quarterbacks between Russell and Mississippi State's Kamario Taylor, and Russell came out on top. The Alabama sophomore went 16 of 22 for 285 yards and three touchdowns with another 16 yards and touchdown on the ground.

"It went amazing," Russell said after the game. "We played dominant all four quarters. Still got a lot of stuff to pick up on, but we're only gonna keep progressing as a team. Just want to thank the guys for going out here and balling today."

Perhaps most importantly, Russell played turnover-free football for the third straight game. After a near disastrous performance in the first half at Kentucky with three turnovers in the win, Russell has not had an interception or fumble.

"I just think he's learned from everything that's happened, it wasn't just about that road game," Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer said after the game. "It's about all the things he's had through the first four leading in today. So, but you know, he just you know plays. He's not this overly emotional guy, but just you know, feed into it. And our guys love when he commands things. That happens in practice now. You know, he's not afraid to tell guys you know where to go, what they need to do if they're not up to the standard of how we're operating in practice, and that happens in games too. So, and he just you know get trusting in himself."

Russell's stock was already on the rise, but his performance on Saturday in a ranked vs. ranked SEC matchup put him even more prominently on the national radar. As Russell's ceiling gets higher, so does the Crimson Tide's.

Tide pass rush keeps Kamario off balance

Alabama defensive lineman London Simmons celebrates a play in the first half of the game against Mississippi State on Oct 3, 2026. | Sarah Munzenmaier/Alabama Crimson Tide on SI

The Alabama defense recorded a new season high with five sacks to go alongside six quarterback hurries. With the quarterback play being a heavy focus in this matchup, the Crimson Tide defense kept Taylor under duress all game.

"You just you know that if you can just keep coming after him, we felt like we can get there between our guys up front and what what they're capable of, and I think that's where it starts," DeBoer said. "And just if you can keep Kamario from being able to throw early and quick and make him hold on to it for just a little bit longer, just keep hustling, keep straining, and you'll find a way to get home. But I think guys are all playing together. We're not leaving these glaring windows and lanes for quarterbacks to scramble really over the last few weeks."

Taylor completed just 56 percent of his passes, by far his lowest percentage of the season. He also had three total turnovers with two interceptions and a fumble before exiting the game in the fourth quarter.

"We just came in knowing his capability throwing the ball and also running the ball," Alabama defensive lineman London Simmons said after the game. "So we just kept on getting after it in practice knowing that we had a good player on our hands."

Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack talked a lot in the offseason about the Tide improving its pass rush, and his "Swarm D" has a multifaceted attack that caused constant chaos and disruption for the State offense on Saturday.

Depth on display

Alabama linebacker Xavier Griffin makes a tackle in the first half of the game against Mississippi State on Oct 3, 2026. | Sarah Munzenmaier/Alabama Crimson Tide on SI

Alabama was without its starting right tackle on the road, and the offense still scored seven touchdowns. Tyrell Miller made his first FBS start to fill in for the injured Jayvin James, and he held his own against an SEC front.

The Crimson Tide was missing two of its best outside linebackers due to injury and still collected five sacks (see above.)

Ten different defenders contributed to a tackle for loss. Six different players caught a pass of 18 yards or more. Alabama has plenty of players to turn to on both sides of the ball.

"Putting the ball into those guys' hands is phenomenal," Russell said. "You never know what they can do with it. Just giving the ball to playmakers and letting them just go have fun with the game and letting them play ball."

Xavier Griffin is a true freshman at linebacker, yet led the Crimson Tide defense in tackles with nine and also had a sack and quarterback hurry.

"He comes to work every single day," Alabama linebacker Caleb Woodson said. "That coming to fruition for him is great to see."

In an age of college football where it's hard to build depth because of the ease of transferring, Alabama is showing it has a lot to offer beyond the first string.

Freshmen are dominating in Alabama's run game

Alabama running back EJ Crowell breaks a tackle in the second half of the game against Mississippi State on Oct 3, 2026. | Sarah Munzenmaier/Alabama Crimson Tide on SI

Alabama's run game was abysmal last season, and the coaching staff knew it had to change this offseason. The Crimson Tide took a big swing in the transfer portal for NC State transfer running back Hollywood Smothers, who initially committed to Alabama after flipping to Texas.

After Smothers flipped, Alabama decided not to pursue any other backs in the portal and trust what it already had on the roster and what it had coming in. Trae'shawn Brown and EJ Crowell have made the Tide's running game look completely different from last season.

Brown led the Tide in rushing on Saturday with 14 carries for 66 yards and two touchdowns. He's averaging a touchdown a game through the first five games. He had success in between the tackles when the Tide needed steady yards.

"Trae'shawn has benefited from a lot of the reps he got in the spring, summer, fall, and so he feels very comfortable out there now," DeBoer said. "You can see that he's running hard. You know, just has a really good feel of what's going to happen up front, and you know, hitting he hits the holes hard. So love seeing that he's breaking tackle."

Crowell only had three carries against Mississippi State, but his 37-yard gain the fourth quarter will definitely be going in his highlight reel. The 224-pound freshman is so hard for opposing defenders to bring to the ground.

EJ CROWELL 😤 pic.twitter.com/3I8Dq0iLxK
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) October 3, 2026

Senior running back Daniel Hill fumbled twice, one of which was lost, but DeBoer said after the game that he's not a guy Alabama is going to lose trust in.

The Crimson Tide truly has a full stable of running backs between Hill, Brown, Crowell, AK Dear and Kevin Riley. Offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb has previously talked about feeding the hot hand, and Alabama has a lot of options for when it wants to run the ball, and that's a welcome change from last season.

"We've got we got a great complementary group of backs," DeBoer said. "Really, not just two, but three, four, or five guys that can all do some things."

Alabama is starting to look like Alabama again

Rico Scott and Red Morgan — Alabama wide receiver Rico Scott and defensive back Red Morgan celebrate the win against Mississippi State on Oct 3, 2026. | Sarah Munzenmaier/Alabama Crimson Tide on SI

An opposing crowd starting to leave in the third quarter. The starting quarterback getting to rest on the bench by the fourth quarter. Defense scoring touchdowns. A five-touchdown road victory... Alabama is starting to look like Alabama again.

"That's the standard here," Simmons said.

Despite the early kickoff, the crowd in Starkville was frenzied before the game. By the fourth quarter, the stands were 80 percent crimson.

"Coach DeBoer talks about it all the time, just coming into an environment and just finishing the game," Russell said. "You see what happens at the end of the game."

Who knows how good Mississippi State will end up being this season, but the Crimson Tide went on the road and absolutely took care of business against a team ranked in the top 20 at the time.

For the final few years of the Nick Saban era, and the first two years of DeBoer's tenure, games coming down to the wire became more the rule than the exception. The 2026 Crimson Tide team is starting to reverse that trend.

With the way Alabama's schedule was set up, the Tide needed to avoid any upset losses and start the year 5-0. This team did that.

Next week's top-10 matchup at home with Georgia will be the biggest test Alabama has faced yet, but the Tide is already looking like one of the top teams in the country.

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