Alabama Crimson Tide vs. Mississippi State Bulldogs, 7:45 p.m. ET, ESPN

If there was ever an opportunity for a letdown game, it would be this one. Alabama is coming off of an overtime loss against LSU that, despite its No. 3 ranking, could still knock the Tide out of the national championship hunt. Somehow, playing for a Sugar Bowl or Capital One Bowl berth just doesn't seem the same.

That's about the only thing that Mississippi State has going for it in this game. It has some nice statistics, but against a slate that includes a trio of woeful FBS squads and Kentucky. The numbers are padded, and there's little reason to think that even a down Alabama will be quite that bad against the Bulldogs.

For the Tide, this is still the same team that ranks No. 1 or No. 2 in the SEC in almost every statistical category. There's a reason that the Tide are still the third-ranked team in the nation after losing to LSU. As Mississippi State is likely to find out tonight, they're still pretty good.

Alabama 38, Mississippi State 3