Mississippi State's struggles against Alabama continued this evening as they were handed a 30-6 loss in Bryant-Denny Stadium to move their record to 5-3.

It was a combination of factors that led to the Bulldogs' demise in the one sided affair. Alabama jumped out to an early lead as Bryce Young hit sophomore receiver JoJo Earle for a 31-yard touchdown and they didn't look back from there.

The Mississippi State offense was stagnant all night, and Alabama jumped out to a 24-0 halftime lead behind a 19-yard rushing touchdown from Georgia Tech transfer Jahmyr Gibbs and a 6-yard receiving touchdown by Traeshon Holden. On the Mississippi State side, Will Rogers struggled to find an open man against Alabama's lockdown secondary as he was held to 94 yards while completing 11 of his 27 attempts in the first half.

The Bulldog defense stepped up in the second half holding the Tide to just 90 yards and two field goals, but the offense remained quiet until Jo'quavious Marks punched in a one yard touchdown on the last play of the game, the first touchdown Mississippi State has scored against Alabama in the Mike Leach era.

1) Pass rush was non-existent

Mississippi State struggled to get any pressure on Bryce Young and it led to the Tide being able to complete numerous explosive plays down the field. It began on the 2nd drive the game as Young hit Ja'Corey Brooks for a 40-yard completion downfield and followed it with a 31-yard score to Jojo Earle while having 10.5 seconds to throw.

The lack of pass rush allowed the reigning Heisman Trophy winner to pick apart the Bulldog defense as he completed 21 passes for 249 yards, an 11.8 yard average. Young didn't take his first sack until the 3rd quarter when Bookie Watson came through the gap on a blitz followed by a sack from Randy Charlton the next play. They did a much better job in the second half, but it was too late for the Bulldogs as the game had already gotten away from them.

2) Alabama's secondary strapped up

Mississippi State's wide receivers struggled to get separation from start to finish and it's shown by the 50% completion percentage put up by Will Rogers. Alabama's defensive backs were in MSU's hair all evening as they totaled 13 pass break ups, including four each from starting cornerbacks Kool-Aid McKinstry and Eli Ricks.

3) Short yard situations killer

Mississippi State had some chances to get on the board early but they struggled in their short yard situations. A red zone trip in the first quarter ended with zero points after Rogers threw it incomplete to Jaden Walley on 4th and three.

In the 2nd quarter Mississippi State had a chance to sustain a drive as they had a 3rd and one, but two consecutive incomplete passes intended for Caleb Ducking and Jaden Walley turned it over to Alabama in their own territory. It's the same problem that they struggled with in the LSU game last month getting stuffed on multiple fourth and short situations.