The Crimson Tide earned a huge win on the road on Wednesday night, defeating top-15 Mississippi State 88-84 behind a career performance by Chris Youngblood, who scored 23 points while shooting 70% from three-point range.

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The victory was big for Alabama in 2024, with the Crimson Tide improving to 4-0 in road SEC games this season, but the win was even bigger for Alabama head coach Nate Oats.

Alabama's win over Mississippi State was Oats's 25th win over a top-25 team during his Alabama career, just midway through his sixth season as Alabama's head coach. The 25th win, coming over Mississippi State, tied legendary Alabama head coach Wimp Sanderson in wins over top-25 opponents as Alabama's head coach. Sanderson did it in the 12 seasons as Alabama's head coach, while Oats has done it in just six seasons at Alabama.

The record is notable for Oats, but his next opportunity for a win over a ranked opponent could be his biggest opportunity as Alabama's head coach so far.

The next three opponents for Alabama are Georgia, Arkansas, and Texas - all three unranked opponents. Texas did receive 22 points attributed to a top-25 ranking but fell to Ole Miss on Wednesday night.

If the three next opponents for Alabama remain unranked, it would be Alabama's fourth next opponent where Oats could pass Sanderson's record for ranked wins while at Alabama.

That opponent?

The No. 1 ranked team in the country - the Auburn Tigers.

Wyatt Fulton is the TIde 100.9 DME and Brand Manager, primarily covering Alabama Crimson Tide football and men's basketball. For more Crimson Tide coverage, follow Wyatt on X (Formerly known as Twitter) at @FultonW_.

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