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Mississippi State suffered its first loss of the season on Saturday.
No. 7 Crimson Tide's 56-23 win over the No. 16 BulldogsRussell threw for three touchdowns and ran for another, while Taylor committed three turnovers. Mississippi State never led, and the game slipped away from the Bulldogs in the third quarter after Taylor's second interception.
After Alabama scored a touchdown on its first possession of the second half to open up a 35-17 lead, MSU had a chance to stay within striking distance. But as running back Kolin Wilson leaked out of the backfield, Taylor overthrew him and the pass landed in the waiting arms of Caleb Woodson. Three plays later, Alabama running back Trae'Shawn Brown had his second rushing TD of the game. And the rout was on.
The Bulldogs entered the game 4-0 and had started consecutive seasons with that record for the first time since World War II. In 2025, Mississippi State lost eight of its last nine games to finish 5-8. This season, it's hard to see that happening. But it's also easy to see that the truth of Mississippi State's season lies somewhere in the middle of this undefeated start and the mess that unfolded at home against the Crimson Tide.
After becoming one of the breakout stars of September thanks to his ability to make nearly any throw, Taylor had an incredibly forgettable start. He fumbled on the fifth play of the game after he dropped the ball when trying to fake a pass. Three plays into the second drive, he bought himself time and then threw a pick 6 to Dijon Lee after Lee quickly read where Taylor wanted to throw.
Add in a Sanfrisco Magee fumble and Mississippi State turned the ball over four times on Saturday. Leading running back Fluff Bothwell also left the game due to injury after just one carry and never returned. Taylor exited the game himself in the second half and slowly walked to the locker room. He finished 19-of-34 passing for 258 yards and three TDs with two interceptions.
Fortunately for the Bulldogs, they're off in Week 6 before visiting No. 11 LSU. Then MSU hosts Oklahoma before heading to No. 1 Texas on Halloween. Ex-Alabama coach Nick Saban used that exact phrase on ESPN's "College GameDay" before picking his former employer to win. After all, Alabama hosts No. 2 Georgia in Week 6.
Looking ahead to one of the biggest games of the year in college football would be understandable. The Tide are not only contenders in the SEC. They look like legitimate national title contenders. That's not something that was said at the beginning of the season. This Alabama team started the season at No. 13 in the AP Top 25.
That's more than respectable. But it was the first time Alabama had been ranked lower than eighth to start a season since 2008. That was Saban's second season. Until 2025, when Alabama started the season at No. 8, the Tide had been ranked in the top five in 16 straight AP Top 25s.
One of the biggest questions about this iteration of Alabama was at quarterback after Russell beat Austin Mack for the starting job. So far, Russell is acing the test. He finished the game 16-of-22 passing for 285 yards and was able to watch much of the fourth quarter from the bench. The Tide took advantage of several first-half turnovers to run away with this one.
Keelon Russell finished with 4 TDs and over 300 total yards. The Tide are still running it up. Midway through the fourth quarter, they have another TD on a short run by backup QB Austin Mack. The Tide have effectively ended this one.
After a running-into-the-kicker penalty gave them a first down, Alabama capped off its drive with an 8-yard TD pass from Keelon Russell to Rico Scott for the wide receiver's second TD of the game. The Tide are in clock-killing mode and taking their time moving down the field as the third quarter comes to a close.
It's going to take a herculean effort from Kamario Taylor to get MSU back in this one … and they'll need to stop Bama at some point too. The Tide are pouring it on now. Trae'Shawn Brown capped off the short drive with his second touchdown of the day on an 8-yard run. This is becoming a rout really quick.
It's another huge mistake by Kamario Taylor as the QB throws it over the head of his RB on a checkdown and it goes right into the hands of Caleb Woodson. The Tide are gonna have a great opportunity to add to their lead as they're already on the brink of the red zone.
The Tide didn't waste any time after the break, driving the length of the field and scoring on a third-down pass from Keelon Russell to Rico Scott. We're back for the second half in Starkville and Alabama is on the move. The Tide are past the 50 after a long catch by Rico Scott. A lot was made of the two QBs in this one.
Here's how they've done throwing the ball today :Well, the Bulldogs responded … with a field goal. They marched down the field and got to the Bama 4-yard line before the drive stalled out and they had to settle on a kick as time expired. The Tide are in the end zone again after a 7-play, 88-yard drive ended with a short run into the end zone by Trae'Shawn Brown.
We're averaging a turnover every four minutes in Starkville Going to go out on a limb and say that it's unsustainable. MSU has three turnovers, while Alabama has two. The Bulldogs are right back in this thing! Kamario Taylor hit Zion Ragins on a quick pass and the receiver bolted into the end zone for a touchdown.
The Bulldogs just got it right back after Bama's Daniel Hill fumbled in the backfield and Kendel Dolby fell on it. The Bulldogs are killing themselves early in Starkville. This time Kamario Taylor found Sanfrisco Magee on a crossing route, but the wide receiver was stripped of the ball and Alabama's Zabien Brown fell on it.
Fluff Bothwell is on the sideline in street clothes, seemingly done for the day with what the broadcast said was a pre-existing injury that he tested out on the first couple possessions but couldn't continue. Could this have started any more poorly for Mississippi State? This MSU team is better than it was last year. But the Bulldogs also started 2025 4-0 before losing eight of their last nine games.
The Crimson Tide are on the march and in the red zone as the first quarter comes to a close.
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