Mississippi State hasn’t had the best start to SEC play after the 2023 season with two big non-conference wins. The Bulldogs were dominated by No. 14 LSU 41-14 in Week 3 and lost a tough one, 37-30, at South Carolina in Week 4. The Bulldogs had no time to panic as they had to host the No. 12 Alabama Crimson Tide.

While the Bulldogs’ defense had the talent to suppress the Tide’s offense, it was the turnovers that plagued Mississippi State. The Bulldogs gave the Crimson Tide a battle, but it was Alabama that came out on top with a 40-17 victory to make it 16 wins in a row over Mississippi State.

Player of the Week: Outside linebacker Jett Johnson

In order for Mississippi State to take down Alabama, the Bulldogs needed to be nearly perfect everywhere. While the offense struggled, the Bulldogs’ defense played up to the level of the Tide.

Leading the defense was graduate student weakside linebacker Jett Johnson. Johnson led the team in total tackles accounted for (14) as he also accounted for 1 sack and 1.5 tackles for loss. He was fast and reactive to the Tide’s short-passing plays and run plays.

His leadership and availability was a key reason why the Bulldogs stalled the Tide’s offense to field goals on 4 drives. The defense also played well despite the offense putting the defense in bad situations.

Freshman of the Week: Defensive end Donterry Russell

The Alabama game was a great opportunity for the Bulldogs’ pass rush to have its best impact this season. The offensive line of the Crimson Tide has struggled, which leaves opportunities for fast defensive ends like redshirt freshman Donterry Russell to create some pressure.

Russell was the leader of a tenacious defensive line for Mississippi State. Russell accounted for 5 total tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. The Bulldogs’ defense accumulated 7 tackles for loss and 4 sacks.

This was an emergence for Russell, who had his best game in his collegiate career. This game is going to be a big confidence booster for Russell.

Biggest Surprise: The Bulldogs’ defense playing well against the Tide’s offense

Mississippi State was taking on an Alabama offense that didn’t have the same explosiveness as in the past few seasons. The Tide, however, were still playing better than in the previous few weeks.

The Bulldogs’ defense was up to the challenge as they held the Tide to only 357 total yards on offense. The biggest reason for the Bulldogs playing on defense was their pass rush. Mississippi State accounted for 4 sacks and 7 tackles for loss. They took the Tide’s vulnerability, which was the offensive line and the lack of a deep passing game, and limited Alabama even more.

Biggest Concern: Will Rogers’ Continuous Poor Play Against Alabama

For the 4th consecutive year, Bulldogs quarterback Will Rogers played poorly against the Crimson Tide. Rogers finished the game completing 15-of-27 of his passes for 107 yards, 1 touchdown and 3 interceptions, with one of them returned for an Alabama touchdown.

In his 4 games against Alabama, Rogers completed 104-of-179 of his passes for 785 yards (an average of 196.3 yards per game), 1 touchdown and 8 interceptions. He has also rushed for -58 yards on 23 carries.

There have been quarterbacks that play better in big games. Rogers has shown that he is not among them against the Crimson Tide.

Developing Trend: Mississippi State falling towards the bottom of the SEC

The first year under new head coach Zach Arnett was not going to be an easy introduction for his head coaching season debut or for Mississippi State. The Bulldogs suffered 3rd third consecutive loss of the season, all of them in SEC play.

Mississippi State gets a break in Week 6 by hosting Western Michigan (2-3). Following the game after the Broncos, the Bulldogs have to prepare for a tough 4-game SEC slate with 3 of the games on the road. If the Bulldogs can’t find a balance between their offense and their defense, they could lose the remaining SEC games at Arkansas, at Auburn, home against Kentucky, at Texas A&M and at home against Ole Miss.

Key Stat: 3

Mississippi State had a decent game running the game by accounting for 154 yards and a touchdown on 35 carries. The Bulldogs needed quarterback Will Rogers to not make big mistakes and play the role as an efficient game-manager.

Rogers had some good throws at times, but he had terrible moments by throwing 3 interceptions. His first interception was picked off by Alabama outside linebacker Chris Braswell and returned for a 28-yard touchdown. His other 2 interceptions were just before halftime and in the middle of the 4th quarter.

First impression about Week 6

The Mississippi State Bulldogs (2-3) have suffered their 3rd consecutive loss with all of coming in SEC play. It isn’t surprising to see that the Bulldogs were unable to get wins over LSU, at South Carolina and Alabama, but there has been a lack of balance. When the offense plays well, the defense suffers inconsistent play.

Mississippi State will have a chance to regain some composure in Week 6 when it hosts the Western Michigan Broncos (2-3). Western Michigan is coming off a 42-24 home win over Ball State in Week 5. The Broncos’ defense accumulated 10 tackles for loss and 6 sacks against the offense of the Cardinals.

The Bulldogs will have to prepare for the Broncos’ offense that accumulated 461 yards of total offense, 328 of them coming from the passing game. Mississippi State has more talent throughout the field than Western Michigan.

This game is a great opportunity for Mississippi State to play consistently on both sides of the ball and fix its mistakes before going back to SEC play.