Alabama trounces Mississippi State, 38-7 - WSFX - FOX Wilmington, NC

The Alabama Crimson Tide showed why they were heavily favored to win in the game against an undefeated Mississippi State as they won 38-7.

The Tide began the scoring on their first possession. A 9-play drive covered 59 yards and ended with T.J. Yeldon rushing for 11 yards across the goal line. Jeremy Shelley's extra point was good.

At the 3:27 mark in the first quarter, Alabama returned to the endzone following a 6-play drive for 80 yards. The scoring play was an A.J. McCarron pass to Kenny Bell for a whopping 57-yards. Jeremy Shelley's kick brought Alabama's score up to 14.

The second quarter brought more points for Alabama while the Bulldogs remained scoreless. Two and a half minutes into the second quarter, the Tide added another touchdown. The 8-play drive covered 73 yards and finished up with a McCarron pass to Michael Williams for 9 yards and the touchdown. Shelley's kick was good.

Before halftime, Alabama took a field goal after finding themselves facing 4th and 5 at the Mississippi State 17. With 52 seconds remaining in the half, Jeremy Shelley kicked the 34-yard field goal.

In the 3rd quarter, neither team scored, but the Bulldogs came very close. Mississippi State pushed down into the red zone through a 16-play drive. It appeared that they could not be stopped when reaching a position of 1st and goal at the Alabama 2-yard-line. Alabama's defense was able to stop the rush into the endzone on two subsequent plays and a pass from Tyler Russell was intercepted by Robert Lester for a Tide touchback.

The 4th quarter brought a touchdown for Alabama with 13 minutes remaining in the game. A bungled punt return by the Bulldogs afforded Alabama good field position at the Mississippi State 28. Two plays later, Phillip Ely landed a pass into the arms of Eddie Lacy for 27-yards and the score. Shelley's kick was good and set the score to 31-0.

The kickoff gave Alabama another chance as a fumble, forced by the Tide's Christion Jones, was recovered at the Mississippi State 47 yard line. A series of rushes later, Alabama returned to the endzone. Kenyan Drake make the score with a 3-yard rush with 8:14 remaining in the game. Shelley brought the score to 38-0 with his kick.

Mississippi State refused to give in. The Bulldogs fought to avoid the shutout and succeeded in the 4th quarter. A drive based on a series of Dak Prescott passes saw the team to the endzone. The 9-play drive finished up with a Prescott pass to Robert Johnson for 2-yards across the goal line. Kicker Devon Bell added the extra point. This wrapped up the scoring for the game at 38-7.

Next week, the Crimson Tide travels to Baton Rouge for a huge game against LSU. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

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