Mississippi State Bulldogs Vs Alabama Crimson Tide

Last year the Tide needed to score 14 points to come from behind against Hail State on their home turf.  They did.  The final score was 31-24.

Mississippi State’s QB, Nick Fitzgerald, believes he can replicate those three strong quarters and marshal his Bulldogs offense to a victory at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Fitzgerald knows that last year has no bearing on today’s game in Tuscaloosa, but he’s confident knowing they held the lead until the fourth quarter giving him the motivation he and his team will need if they hope to beat Bama on the road.

These two teams have done battle on the gridiron going all the way back to 1896 and the series history shows the Crimson Tide has owned the Dogs 80-3-18.  ESPN’s Matchup Predictor gives the Boys from Tuscaloosa an 89.7% chance of victory.

No cupcake, MSST was ranked No. 18 last week in the College Football Playoff rankings and rose to No. 16 after drubbing War Eagle 23-9.

Paul Finebaum said last week the only way Bama suffers a loss on its way to the playoffs is if Tua Tagovailoa gets injured.  “I think we’ve come to that conclusion and it didn’t take 10 weeks to do it,” he said.

CBS analyst Gary Danielson believes the only two teams that have a shot at beating Alabama this season are Clemson and Georgia.  Kirby Smart’s Bulldawgs are currently two touchdown underdogs. We’ll know if Danielson was right on December 1st in Atlanta when they clash in the SEC Championship Game. Dabo will seek revenge against Saban’s Murderball if the fates pair them in the CFP Playoffs.

Hail State’s Head Coach, Joe Moorhead, doesn’t give a whit about their 10-game losing streak to the Tide saying, “We have to concentrate on the things we need to do.  We’re going to have to have great practices.  We have to have great urgency and body language.  Our scout team will have to be great because it’s almost impossible to replicate what Alabama does in all three phases.”  Sounds like a plan to me.

Every team that goes into Davis Wade Stadium is subjected to 61,000 infernal Bully Bells.  The Hail Staters truly believe those damn things intimidate the opposing team.  Well, they don’t.  They’re annoying as hell.  There won’t be any cowbells in Bryant-Denny Stadium.  No siree.

The Bulldogs will be treated to the sounds of the roar of a rampaging elephant over the stadium loudspeakers and AC/DC’s “Hell’s Bells” on every Bama third down.  Oh, and let’s not forget the Athletic Director is once again allowing “Dixieland Delight” to be played at the beginning of the fourth quarter.  That alone will strike fear into Coach Moorhead’s boys and spur the Crimson Tide on to victory.

Alabama Crimson Tide Vs Mississippi State Bulldogs

Picture it—high noon at Bryant-Denny Stadium—the 4-5 Mississippi State Bulldogs take the field in front of 102,000 rabid Bama fans who are there to see their 9-0 Crimson Tide wage battle against the upstarts who did the improbable by defeating an over-hyped fourth-ranked Texas A&M 35-28 last Saturday.

That win boosted the morale of the Bullpuppies faithful.  Who can blame them?  After all, the Cubbies won the World Series and Donald Trump was elected the 45th President of the United States.  Anything can happen right?

LSU wore our ass out last Saturday.  Bama must remain undefeated heading into Cupcake Week against the unranked Chattanooga Mocs and beyond that against Auburn in the Iron Bowl.

Past is prologue.  The Bulldogs have lost the last 8 contests against the Crimson Tide. The Boys from Tuscaloosa own the series 78-18-3 and is a 29-point favorite today.  ESPN’s Matchup Predictor gives Alabama a 95.8% chance of beating MSST.

Coach Saban is working on a streak of eight consecutive 10-win seasons.  Can he catch Bobby Bowden’s record?  His streak will expand to 9 after today’s game.

ROLL TIDE ROLL!

How Bama Fans Watched Week Ten SEC Games pic.twitter.com/sUpJ6J2ID4

— FunnyMaine.Com (@FunnyMaine) November 6, 2016

When you're the king you have ONLY enemies #MSSTvsBAMA #RollTide @BryantDenny_UA @TheAlabamaLogo @CrimsonTide_FB @SECcountry pic.twitter.com/nbolNpIUhx

— Hunter LeMoine (@HunterLeMoine) November 10, 2016

Alabama Crimson Tide Vs Mississippi State Bulldogs

Earlier this week the oddsmakers were giving Bama a 6-point advantage over the Mississippi State Bulldogs.  By Thursday they had them as an 8-point favorite.

Last Sunday the AP Top 25 Poll had the Crimson Tide moving up four slots from No. 7 to No. 3 and then on Tuesday the College Football Playoff Selection Committee came out with their Week 10 rankings moving the Tide up from No. 4 to No. 2 ahead of Ohio State and Baylor.  The Bama faithful are ecstatic.

When LSU came to Tuscaloosa last week I was as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.  I was sure the LSU Tigers would give my Bama boys a fit.  I cannot describe the euphoria I felt over the impressive way in which they dominated the boys from Baton Rouge.

Saturday at 3:30 PM ET, CBS will carry the game from Davis Wade Stadium, the home of the eternally annoying cowbell-clanging crowd.

The Bulldogs have lost 7 straight games to Alabama.  Alabama owns the series history between the two schools:  79-17-3.  The Tide is just three games away from returning to the College Football Playoffs.

I’m not foolish enough to believe the game against “Hail State” will be a walk in the park.  A victory over Mississippi State is anything but a given. Those boys and their rabid fans are going to fight like a house afire.  It’s a matter of pride and intense yearning to knock Bama out of the CFB.

I read an interesting take on the game from Rodger Sherman over at SB Nation.  He picks game winners based on their mascots.  Sherman wrote:

“Look, I've already established many times that most animals would be helpless against the Tide, especially a more-or-less hopeless animal like a bulldog. Bulldogs have no chance against—wait, what’s that?”  Then he presents an embedded video of Tillman the Surfing Dog.  “Hell yeah!” he writes.  “It’s a surfing bulldog.  WOOO.  The Bulldogs have conquered the Tide.  They’re unstoppable.”

What ‘ol Rodger fails to mention is Tillman’s owner says he likes to “wipeout” in the surf.  That sounds prophetic to me.

Sophie The Wonderdog doesn’t care what the sportswriters say and she sure as hell doesn’t care what Rodger Sherman has to say.  She’s not the least bit worried about a “Dak Attack.”  She knows Bama is going to put another W in the books and she will get a “cookie” when our powerful pachyderms do.  That’s how she rolls. 

ROLL TIDE ROLL!

Alabama Vs Mississippi State

Last Saturday I spent the entire game biting my nails down to the nubs.  Alabama was playing the LSU Tigers in Death Valley—the place where LSU Coach Les Miles said “dreams come to die.”

With an overtime win, Alabama made sure it was the other guys whose dreams died.

That brings us to today’s game against the SEC’s only undefeated team—Mississippi State.  The game will be carried on CBS and kicks off at 3:30 PM ET in T-town.

MSU has lost the last 19 times they’ve played Alabama at home.  MSU has QB Dak Prescott, a Heisman Trophy candidate, who is considered a solid No. 2 to the Duck’s Marcus Mariota.  Alabama has All-American Amari Cooper who has amassed 1219 yards receiving and scored 10 TDs.  The Bulldogs have the nation’s top-ranked red zone defense and is 5th in the nation in team sacks.  Alabama has the nation’s 3rd ranked rush defense.

This game will not hinge on stats on a piece of paper.  It’s the intangibles that will matter most.  There will be cowbells clanging in Bryant-Denny Stadium to be sure, but they will be drowned out by the sounds of “Sweet Home Alabama” being sung by 102,000 devout fans. That will generate plenty of emotion for my boys.

ROLL TIDE ROLL!

And because no football post would be complete without pom-poms, please feast your eyes upon this lovely.

Order Shall Be Restored. #BeatMissState #RollTide #MSSTvsBAMA pic.twitter.com/JAr0RkKw1N
— PoliticalClownParade (@Carry_That_Load) November 16, 2014

Sophie’s Slacker Saturday

Today is Saturday and there’s no Bama game.  My beloved Crimson Tide has a bye this week.

I will be relegated to watching the SEC games involving teams Bama will face after they whip the LSU Tigers on Saturday, November 8th.

No. 2 Florida State managed to survive a half-time 21-0 deficit against Louisville to win 42-31 on Thursday.  I’ll have to set up the TV’s picture-in-picture to watch No. 3 Auburn take on No. 4 Ole Miss at 7:00 PM, Arkansas playing No. 1 Mississippi State at 7:15 PM and peek in once in a while on Stanford vs. No. 5 Oregon at 7:30 PM.

I don’t have to tell you I’m rooting for the Rebels, Hogs and Cardinal to pull the win against the Tide’s competition for the College Football Playoffs that will lead to crowning a national champion.

One can safely say that the current rankings will surely change after today.  What will matter is the decision the Selection Committee makes on December 7th.

Meanwhile, my furkid Sophie will do what she does best—look adorable while snoozing on the couch beside me as I enjoy some honest-to-God smashmouth football.