Alabama beat No. 16 Mississippi State 56-23 on Saturday, and the scoreboard barely tells how lopsided it was. The No. 7 Crimson Tide improved to 5-0 overall and 3-0 in the SEC under head coach Kalen DeBoer. Mississippi State fell to 4-1 and 2-1 in conference play.
This was a ranked SEC opponent on the road, and Alabama treated it like a tune-up. That tells you where this team is right now.
Efficient and ruthless
Alabama gained 483 yards and scored touchdowns on all seven of its red zone trips. Quarterback Keelon Russell completed 16 of 22 passes for 285 yards and three touchdowns, and finished with 301 yards of offense and four scores. Trae’shawn Brown ran for two touchdowns, and Rico Scott caught two touchdown passes.
Seven for seven in the red zone is the number that jumps out. Good teams move the ball. Great ones turn every opportunity into points, and Alabama did.
The defense wrote the opening chapter
The Tide forced four turnovers, which led to 21 points. Two of those were interceptions returned for touchdowns. Safety Dijon Lee Jr. set the tone with a 30-yard pick-six just minutes into the game, and Mississippi State was chasing from there.
Points off turnovers swing games like this. When your defense scores and your offense cashes in every red zone visit, the other team does not get a chance to settle in.
It also matters that this came against a team that entered ranked 16th and 4-1. Mississippi State was not a pushover, and the Tide never let it become a game. Alabama led the story from the first quarter and never gave the Bulldogs a path back.
So where is Alabama?
Alabama is a legitimate contender, and the early evidence is strong. A 5-0 start, an SEC record of 3-0 and a 33-point road win over a top-16 team is the profile of a playoff team. DeBoer has this group playing complete football on both sides of the ball.
The caution is that one game does not settle the question. The four turnovers helped create the margin, and teams do not get that kind of help every week. The real test comes when Alabama has to win a close game against a team that does not hand it the football.
But if you are looking for a reason to doubt the Tide, Saturday did not provide one. Russell just posted a four-touchdown day on the road, and the offense around him never stalled. For now, Alabama looks like a team that belongs in the national conversation, and the SEC should plan accordingly.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.