Alabama pulls away from Mississippi State: Defense shines, Keelon Russell dazzles as Tide dominate second half

No. 7 Alabama survived a sloppy start against No. 16 Mississippi State to pull away 56-23 and move to 5-0. The Tide and Bulldogs combined for five turnovers in the first half, but Alabama cleaned things up and put together a dominant second-half finish. The 56-point performance is the most ever allowed by a ranked SEC team at home.

The Crimson Tide bludgeoned Mississippi State in the second half, outscoring them 28-6 down the stretch. The first four drives of the second half all went for touchdowns, with two lasting more than five minutes as Kalen DeBoer's squad controlled the pace of play.

In a matchup of top quarterbacks, Alabama's Keelon Russell stepped up and delivered a dominant performance. The sophomore from Dallas completed 16 of 22 passes for 285 yards and three touchdowns, and added another score on the ground. He thoroughly outdueled the rising Kamario Taylor, who turned the ball over three times.

Mississippi State hosted its biggest home game since at least 2014, but the Bulldogs just struggled to live up to the moment. Taylor turned the ball over on both of his first two drives before leaving the game with an injury in the fourth quarter.

Original source: https://www.cbssports.com/