No. 5 Alabama beat No. 1 Mississippi State 25-20 on Saturday in Tuscaloosa in a win that undoubtedly moves the Crimson Tide into the College Football Playoff top four and into first place in the SEC West.
Two years ago in Tuscaloosa, then-Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel put himself in position for the Heisman Trophy when the Aggies upset the Crimson Tide. On Saturday, Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott likely lost the Heisman Trophy as he threw three interceptions, including one with five minutes to go in the fourth quarter as the Bulldogs drove down the field to attempt to close the deficit to a single possession.
Mississippi State pulled within 19-13 at the start of the fourth quarter, but Alabama responded with a clock-chewing counterpunch. The Tide drove 76 yards in 15 plays in over six minutes, the final play being a seven-yard touchdown run by T.J. Yeldon.
Until that point, Alabama's offense had been stagnant in the second half, accumulating 39 yards on 14 plays in its first three second half drives. But with the aid of two crucial third-down scrambles that turned into first downs by quarterback Blake Sims, 65 of Alabama's yards on the touchdown drive were on the ground.
Before the drive, Alabama had 62 yards rushing.
Prescott's second interception was also incredibly costly. Mississippi State bookended halftime with field goals and drove to the Alabama 15 on its third drive of the second half. On second down, Prescott saw that he had single coverage but threw the ball woefully behind his receiver, giving Cyrus Jones an easy pick in the end zone.
While one of Alabama, Florida State or Oregon will likely be No. 1 in Tuesday's playoff rankings, the big question for the committee becomes how far Mississippi State will fall. No. 4 TCU won, but it was comeback 34-30 win over Big 12 doormat Kansas. Will TCU keep its spot in the top four? Or does it drop to five and Mississippi State stays in the top four?
The next rankings aren't the end-all, anyway. Mississippi State still has a game against Ole Miss while TCU plays Texas and Iowa State. At 11-1 with victories over Auburn, LSU, Ole Miss and Texas A&M, MSU's end-of-season resumé would be very strong, even if it wouldn't make the SEC Championship Game.
The committee's job determining the four best teams in college football just got even tougher.
For more Alabama news, visit TideSports.com
For more Mississippi State news, visit BulldogBlitz.com
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
From Dr. Saturday - NCAAF - Yahoo Sports - Alabama beats Mississippi State 25-20
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