ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE VS. MISSISSIPPI STATE BULLDOGS

RANKINGS: Alabama (CFB Playoff #2, S&P+ #1) | Mississippi State (CFB Playoff #16, S&P+ #16)

RECORDS: Alabama (9-0, 6-0 SEC) | Mississippi State (7-2, 3-2 SEC)

TIME: 6 p.m. CT

TV: ESPN

WATCH ONLINE: WatchESPN

SPREAD: Alabama opened as 14.5-point faves. The line went down to 13.5/14.

O/U: The total opened at 50.5. It’s now up to 51/51.5.

RECORDS ATS: Alabama (4-5) | Mississippi State (6-3)

SERIES HISTORY

These two teams first met on November 8, 1902. On that fateful day, ‘Bama won 27-0.

Fun fact: In the first 17 meetings, the game took place in seven different locations. Tuscaloosa, Columbus, Mississippi, Aberdeen, Mississippi, Birmingham, Starkville and Meridian, Mississippi all played host to this battle between Tide and Bulldogs.

Games would also be played in Jackson in 1964, 1965, 1969, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1980, 1982 and 1984.

Alabama leads the all-time series by a hearty margin, owning a 78-16-3 record over the Bulldogs. They have won each of the last nine meetings by an average of 23.55 points. The closest battle was back in 2014, when the Tide took them down 25-20. The most lopsided was last year, when they bullrushed them 51-3.

Mississippi State hasn’t defeated Alabama since Nick Saban’s first year as head coach, having tagged them 17-12 that day in Starkville. Since 2000, Alabama is 14-3 against State.

I’ve been the engineer of the Nick Fitzgerald bandwagon all year long, but you get to a point where you have to face reality. The reality is, Alabama is gonna win. It’s likely going to be ugly.

Alabama is one of the best teams in the nation. Mississippi State, unfortunately, isn’t on their level. That’s not to say the Bulldogs aren’t a good team! They’re going to a bowl game, that’s good!

But they’re not Alabama.

Sure, anything could happen in SEC play. But Alabama hasn’t lost to Mississippi State since 2007. There’s no reason to believe that will change.

If nothing else, though, it will be nice to see how Alabama plays against a team that at least has a pulse.