Just one week after Alabama fell to LSU 9-6 in the “game of the century,” the Mississippi State Bulldogs will try to beat a Crimson Tide team many think will play the remainder of the 2011 season with anger and vengeance.
Mississippi State head coach Dan Mullen said in his weekly press conference on Monday games like this Saturday’s are the reasons to play and coach the game.
“I know our (players) have been looking forward to it, and I know our coaches are looking forward to it,” said Mullen. “This is why you love being in the Southeastern Conference, to play in these big games.”
After beating the Kentucky Wildcats and Tennessee Martin on consecutive weekends, the Bulldogs come into its matchup with Alabama boasting its first winning streak of the 2011 season. With its record now 5-4, State is only one win away from being bowl eligible for the second consecutive season for the first time since the 1999 and 2000 seasons. Among notable statistics this season, the Bulldogs rank third in the SEC in scoring defense, fourth in rushing offense and fourth in total offense. One of State’s primary weapons on offense is senior running back Vick Ballard, who compiled 102 yards on 11 carries and scored his first touchdown in five games against UT Martin last Saturday. For the season, Ballard has rushed 134 times for 790 yards and has scored seven touchdowns.
With the prestige and physicality Alabama presents on defense, Mullen stressed how imperative establishing a ground game in Saturday’s matchup will be.
“Vick’s always run hard, and we need him to run hard again on Saturday,” Mullen said. “He ran hard this past week, but he’s run hard really all season long, and he better run really hard again this Saturday because we’re going to play a big, physical team.”
Mullen and the Bulldogs are likely to have their work cut out for them Saturday against the Crimson Tide (8-1, 5-1). The Tide is currently ranked third in the BCS standings and are atop several individual and team statistical categories in the Southeastern Conference, including individual rushing yards, individual touchdowns, scoring defense and total defense. They are lead offensively by Heisman-hopeful Trent Richardson, a bruising running back that leads the SEC in individual rushing by more than 200 yards. In his junior campaign, Richardson has compiled 1,078 rushing yards and 17 rushing touchdowns. He has also contributed as a receiver, catching 23 passes for 292 yards and one touchdown, which is good for second among Alabama’s receiving corps.
MSU junior linebacker Brandon Wilson, who ranks fifth in the SEC in tackles, said the Bulldog defense must go into Saturday night’s contest extremely prepared.
“We just have to prepare to come and gang tackle,” Wilson said. “We definitely have to have all 11 hats to the ball.”
Defensively, the Crimson Tide does not have a single player who jumps out statistically, mostly because the Tide rotates several players in and out on the defensive side of the ball due to a great amount of depth. The lack of daunting individual stats has not hindered the Alabama defense this season, though, as the Tide has given up just over seven points a game and ranked first in both passing and rushing defense in the SEC. Among its impressive defensive line up, Alabama senior cornerback Mark Barron and junior linebacker Dont’a Hightower have combined for over 100 tackles this season, and both players are highly regarded as two of the best defensive players in next year’s NFL draft.
Bulldog senior offensive tackle Addison he said he and his teammates are excited about playing the Tide on Saturday night.
“We always get hyped up for Alabama,” Lawrence said. “If you can’t get excited for a game like this, you’ve got problems.”
Saturday’s matchup will mark the 15th consecutive game in which Davis Wade Stadium is sold out. Game time is set for 6:45 p.m. and is scheduled to be ESPN’s primetime game of the week.