The Bulldogs’ Recent History of Being Alabama’s Bounce-Back Game

Alabama defeated Mississippi State 30-6 at home on Saturday night, extending the Crimson Tide's win streak against the Bulldogs to 15 straight wins. This dominant win by Alabama is also starting another streak for Mississippi State, however, as the team that seems to have become the Tide's bounce-back opponent, with the Bulldogs playing the Tide directly after a loss three out of the past four seasons.

Starting in 2019, Alabama played LSU in a top-three matchup that ultimately decided the winner of the SEC West. The Tide lost the game 46-41, giving up 393 yards and three touchdowns through the air to future Heisman winning quarterback Joe Burrow, as well as three touchdowns on the ground to Clyde Edwards-Helaire.

The team's bounce-back game was on the road at Davis Wade Stadium against the Bulldogs, where the Tide won the game 38-7, only giving up 82 yards through the air. The biggest story of the game, however, was the season-ending injury to Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.

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The trend continued in 2021 when the top-ranked Tide played on the road against Texas A&M and lost 41-38, marking the end of both Alabama's streak of beating unranked teams at 100 straight wins as well as Nick Saban's streak of being perfect against his former assistants at 24-0. Aggies quarterback Zach Calzada had 285 passing yards and three touchdowns.

Yet again, Alabama found its bounce-back game the next week on the road at Davis Wade Stadium, where the Tide beat the Bulldogs 49-9, only giving up three field goals in the game. The biggest story of the game was the rise of Alabama's defense, led by linebacker Will Anderson Jr. and his four sacks of quarterback Will Rogers. Also, linebacker Henry To'oTo'o had a season-high 13 total tackles and safety Jordan Battle had two interceptions, including a pick-six in the first quarter.

Finally, in the 2022 season, Alabama lost on the road last weekend to Tennessee 52-49, marking the end of the Tide's 15-game winning streak against the Volunteers. The Tide gave up 385 passing yards and 5 touchdowns to quarterback Hendon Hooker, in which all five of his touchdowns went to wide receiver Jalin Hyatt. Other storylines of the game were that Alabama committed 17 penalties, the most during the Saban era, and the team allowed the most points to be scored on an Alabama team since 1907.

For the second straight season, the Tide found its bounce-back game against Mississippi State, where Alabama's defense shined again by not giving up any points until the final play of the game. The Bulldogs were held to single-digit points for the first time this season, though the biggest headline was the emergence of LSU transfer cornerback Eli Ricks, who was inserted into the starting lineup this game and recorded four pass breaks ups and two tackles on the night.

In 2019, Alabama was left out of the College Football Playoffs, while in 2021, the Tide used the bounce-back performance against Mississippi State to fuel them all the way to the National Championship game.

The Alabama Crimson Tide has a BYE week this upcoming weekend and plays the LSU Tigers on Saturday, November 5, 2022. Kickoff time is TBD. Coverage will be on Tide 100.9 and 95.3 The Bear.