|
|
|
|
Alabama defense proves insurmountable for Bulldogs |
|
Wednesday, 18 November 2009 |
By AARON SEIDLITZ
For the Bulldog Beat
About as quickly as Mark Ingram finished off his 70-yard run to give Alabama a 31-3 lead over Mississippi State in the fourth quarter Saturday night, another record crowd at Davis Wade Stadium began to exit the premises.
In a game where State took the ball inside the Crimson Tide redzone just three times, it was two kickoff returns that may have been the team’s best chances to score in a 31-3 loss against the No. 2 ranked team in the nation – according to the BCS standings.
After an effective start to the game offensively, Mississippi State (4-6, 2-4 Southeastern Conference) became one more victim to Alabama’s defense.
The Crimson Tide (10-0, 7-0) have allowed a touchdown or less in five games this season, and the Bulldogs struggled to shut down an offense that used a wide variety of weapons.
The result was the largest discrepancy in an MSU loss so far this season, and on a day when the Bulldogs again packed more people than ever in Davis Wade Stadium – this time 58,103 was reported as attending the game – most were left with an empty feeling.
Head coach Dan Mullen was no different.
“You know, obviously, disappointed. There was a tremendous atmosphere here tonight, our student body came out in force. It was good to see the stadium full a half-hour before kickoff, with the student section and all that – that was good stuff,” Mullen said.
What wasn’t quite as good in the coach’s or players’ minds was the play on the field. State started off well enough by compiling a couple first downs and running the ball surprisingly well against the No. 2 rated rushing defense in the country.
A couple times running back Anthony Dixon even went right up the middle, where 365-pound defensive tackle Terrence Cody resides.
But whatever good feelings were garnered early on, quickly slipped away with a Tyson Lee interception.
“Ah, it’s just a terrible pass,” Lee said. “The secondary made a great play, but I just made a terrible read and a terrible throw. You can’t hurt yourself, and I did it again today.
“I should have thrown it away or checked it down, instead I forced the ball and it resulted in a turnover.”
Again the Bulldogs were talking about missed opportunities after a loss at home. State hasn’t won a game at Scott Field since the season opener against Jackson State.
In between there have been losses to LSU, Georgia Tech, Houston and Florida.
Those games provided opportunities for MSU, though, in the fourth quarter, and this one did not.
It was a case, according to Lee, of not making good of chances early, which is different from the miscues in the fourth quarter that had been occurring.
“They played extremely well, especially in the first half – we weren’t able to move the ball like we needed to,” Lee said. “We came out and tried to establish the running game, which would have opened up the big plays.
“But we just didn’t make the big plays when we needed to, and it came down to that today.”
An Alabama defense settled in behind the boulder of a man, Cody, and behind him middle linebacker Rolando McClain had 10 tackles, 2.5 for a loss and one sack. Fellow linebacker Cory Reamer also registered a sack and two tackles for a loss against the Bulldogs.
Kareem Jackson hauled in two interceptions, and Marquis Johnson had one more.
The ineffectiveness offensively led Lee to the conclusion that the Crimson Tide defense was similar to the one it will be facing in the SEC Championship game later this season.
“You know, they’re similar to Florida,” Lee said.
“They’re very fast, move very well, but, at the same time, we had opportunities today.
“And when you have opportunities against great teams like that, you have to capitalize.”
Through it all, though, a night of impressive atmosphere on the Mississippi State campus once again was punctuated by the debut of the Mississippi State black jersey.
Withheld from public view until the team’s entrance onto the field at the beginning of the evening, Mullen made the decision with a little encouragement from his defensive captain.
“Jamar (Chaney) asked me coming into the season. He said, ‘Coach, is there any chance we could wear black uniforms at some point this year?’ I told him, ‘Absolutely not’, and as soon as he told me ... then give (Associate Athletic Director) Scott Stricklin and (Director of Athletics) Greg Byrne a lot of credit for working to get those for the players,” Mullen said.
|
|
Last Updated ( Tuesday, 24 November 2009 )
|
|
|
|
