TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — That feeling.
In the moments after No. 1 Mississippi State’s 25-20 loss at No. 5 Alabama on Saturday night, MSU quarterback Dak Prescott was peppered with questions about his performance, his team’s mistakes, and his ability to bounce back from the Bulldogs’ first defeat of the season.
Prescott kept coming back to one feeling, an emotion MSU (9-1, 5-1 Southeastern Conference) hasn’t had to deal with in more than a year.
“It’s disheartening,” Prescott said. “We haven’t lost in a while, but the feeling you get is the same every time. It’s just a sick feeling, like something terrible happened. I’ll remember this feeling tonight because I don’t want to have it again any time soon.”
It was a circumstance brought on by a sterling performance by Alabama (9-1, 6-1), which grabbed control of the race for the SEC’s Western Division championship in one fell swoop.
At the same time, it was the first moment of despair for a MSU program that hadn’t tasted defeat since a 20-7 loss to Alabama on Nov. 15, 2013.
The loss likely will end MSU’s stay atop the national rankings, a perch it had enjoyed since beating then-No. 2 Auburn on Oct. 11.
MSU coach Dan Mullen said his team will use the feeling Prescott was dealing with as fuel.
“It’s a feeling I really can’t explain to you unless you’ve been out there and gone through all the work and played in a game like this,” Mullen said. “It’s a sickness that really gets to you because of all the work, all the sacrifice. But we will use it to get us ready for the next game. We will be sick about this game tonight, and starting tomorrow, we’ll start preparing for Vanderbilt so we can do something about it.”
To Prescott, the loss was especially wrenching. After missing last year’s loss to Alabama, the junior entered the showdown with high hopes and status as a Heisman Trophy contender. But against a defense that is the stingiest in the SEC, Prescott threw three interceptions. He also failed to generate much offense in the first half when Alabama built a 19-0 lead.
Following the game, Prescott made no excuses.
“I turned the ball over too much, just stupid turnovers,” Prescott said. “It felt like we had them, but that game slipped away.”
Prescott’s day wasn’t all bad. He completed 27 passes for 290 yards, including a pair of second-half touchdowns. He connected with sophomore Fred Ross and senior Jameon Lewis on a pair of 4-yard touchdown passes. Ultimately, though, the hole MSU dug for itself in the first half, when Alabama scored the first 19 points, proved to be too much.
“Give them credit,” Prescott said. “They are a great team and a great defense, but it’s very disappointing the way I played. But we will get better.”
Early onslaught
For much of the first half, the moment — and more specifically Alabama — seemed to overwhelm MSU. After getting consecutive first downs on its first drive, MSU’s offense bogged down for the bulk of the first half thanks to a defense that leads the SEC in total yards allowed and scoring defense.
The result was a 19-point avalanche that started when tailback Josh Robinson was dropped in the end zone for a safety on MSU’s third possession. A field goal and two Alabama touchdowns — a 4-yard pass from Blake Sims to Amari Cooper, a 1-yard run by Derrick Henry — later, Alabama led 19-0 just before halftime.
On its final drive of the half, MSU scored on a 23-yard field goal by kicker Evan Sobiesk. Part of MSU’s inability to score came down to its struggles in the red zone, as MSU had seven trips inside Alabama’s 20-yard line and scored only two touchdowns.
Prescott’s three interceptions were especially damaging, as all three happened deep in Alabama territory. Linebacker Nick Perry had the first interception in the first quarter. The second and third, which both occurred in the second half, stopped deep penetrations by MSU. Cornerback Cyrus Jones had the most critical takeaway, intercepting Prescott in the end zone with his team leading 19-6.
“It’s disappointing,” Prescott said. “It’s all on us. I just can’t turn the ball over like I did.”
As distraught as MSU’s players were following the game, Mullen remained positive.
“It was a really well-fought football game,” Mullen said. “Those were two very good football teams out there playing. Give Alabama credit. They did everything you need to do to win. They made the plays.
“All year we’ve been making plays to win the game. Tonight they did.”
For all of its mistakes, MSU made a game of it in the second half. The Bulldogs physically and statistically dominated the third quarter, getting a Sobiesk 32-yard field goal to close the gap to 19-6. When Prescott found Ross on the second play of the fourth quarter, MSU trimmed Alabama’s lead to 19-13. It was the closest the Crimson Tide allowed the Bulldogs to get.
“I can’t tell you how proud I am of how our players competed in the game,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said. “Mississippi State is a great team. At halftime, when you play teams like this, they’re going to come out in the second half and compete. That’s what good teams do. That’s why they’re No. 1. But our team has shown an ability to do that.”
Sims, who had 211 passing yards, captained a 15-play scoring drive that essentially put the game away. He twice extended the drive with a big runs. When tailback T.J. Yeldon scored on a 7-yard run with a little more than nine minutes to go, Alabama had a 25-13 lead.
“It’s a really big win,” Sims said. “I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do the rest of the year.”
While Alabama earned the win with a mistake-free performance and an ability to answer every time MSU got close, the Bulldogs walked away wondering what could have been. MSU outgained Alabama by 93 yards, but every time the Bulldogs had momentum, they committed a crucial error, such as Prescott’s interceptions or a drop by Lewis on third-and-11 in the third quarter.
Many of those mistakes came in the red zone, which MSU visited seven times and came away empty on three occasions. Those empty trips were heavy on Prescott’s mind following the game.
“We squandered a lot of points. We lost focus,” Prescott said. “You have to win in the red zone, but we wasted our chances. Alabama is a great team, and they did a great job scheming. But it was on us, and it was on me.”
Prescott connected with his receivers often, but not often enough against a defense that often stuffed MSU at the line of scrimmage. Junior De’Runnya Wilson, a Birmingham, Alabama, native, had a career-high eight catches for 91 yards, and Tuscaloosa’s Malcolm Johnson added four catches for 74 yards. Ultimately, though, none of it mattered. That’s because Alabama, a team with loads of big-game experience when stakes are highest, executed better than MSU, a team new to the national stage.
For Mullen, the loss wasn’t a killer because MSU still has a chance to realize all of its goals — SEC West, conference title, national title.
To get there, though, will require embracing that feeling.
“It will have to motivate us,” Mullen said. “This one is over, but as a team, we have to remember how this loss feels. We don’t want to feel this way again. And to make sure that doesn’t happen, we go back to work.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brandon Walker on Twitter @BWonStateBeat
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