The clock is winding down and you can feel the tension on Alabama’s sideline.
Mississippi State got the ball back with 3:58 to play and the fact the Bulldogs are driving isn’t sitting well on Bryant-Denny Stadium’s west side.
People are also reading… Quarterback Will Rogers took the final snap of the night and handed it to Jo’quavious Marks.The look on DeMarcco Hellams face would’ve made you think the numbers were reversed. The Alabama safety just shook his head, helmet in hand, as he walked toward the locker room in an awkward end to an otherwise fruitful night.
It’s also fair to say the response to a humbling rivalry loss was sufficient in the first 59:59 Saturday night. This was a Mississippi State passing offense that entered the night No. 9 in the nation averaging 333 yards a game. It finished with 231 as Rogers completed 30 of 60 throws for all 231 of the Bulldog passing yards.
Alabama’s defensive stat sheet read like a phone book with 20 different players recording a tackle. Hellams’ 12 were second only to 13 from pissed off To’o To’o. Alabama, up 30, had the starting 11 on the field to face an air raid offense whose siren sounded something like the referee’s faulty mic.“We’ve got some guys that are afraid of the jersey that says Alabama on it,” he said. “We spent a lot of time frightened of their jerseys. You want to scare some of the guys on our team, put an Alabama jersey on, it’ll scare the hell out of them.”