Caleb Woodson: ‘We’re Our Strongest in the Second Half’

STARKVILLE, Miss.—After Alabama’s dominant 33-point win over Mississippi State, Crimson Tide linebacker Caleb Woodson spoke to the media, highlighting his third-quarter interception and praising the defense’s strong second-half performance.

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Woodson, who finished with three tackles, a pass breakup, and a quarterback hurry, made a significant impact by intercepting Mississippi State’s Kamario Taylor on the Bulldogs’ first drive of the second half. The play set Alabama up at Mississippi State’s 21-yard line and led to another score when Trae’shawn Brown ran it in from eight yards out, giving the Tide a commanding 42-17 lead with 7:07 left in the third quarter.

Woodson’s interception was one of Alabama’s four takeaways and the team’s second interception of the game. Earlier, Dijon Lee Jr. returned a pick-six for a touchdown in the first quarter, putting the Crimson Tide ahead 14-0. Woodson joked that he had an open lane on the interception, with a chance to return it for six, but blamed tunnel vision afterward.

“They told me that I was open on the left, so I gotta have better vision. I kinda got tunnel vision once I got the ball, so we got to fix that,” Woodson told the media following Alabama’s 56-23 win over Mississippi State. 

Woodson added that the Crimson Tide’s defense is strongest in the second half, and that has been the case this season. Alabama has allowed no more than 14 points in the second half of any game except the win over Florida State two weekends ago, when the defense gave up 24 points. Otherwise, the Crimson Tide have been outstanding after halftime.

“We play all four quarters, and we’re our strongest in the second half, so we really preach on keep going and keep elevating our game as the game goes on,” Woodson said.

Woodson said the defense noticed on film that Taylor and Mississippi State running back Fluff Bothwell got banged up in last week’s win against Missouri. However, it didn’t change Alabama’s game plan, nor did it catch the Tide by surprise when Bothwell exited after the first drive, and Taylor's mobility was limited.

Woodson was also asked whether he thought Taylor’s mobility was limited by Alabama’s effective pass rush, which forced five sacks, or by his previous injury from last week’s win.

“I think it was a little bit of both; he did look kind of iffy getting out of the pocket and stuff, and we knew that, so we knew we had a better chance to contain him and stuff,” Woodson added. “We prepared the same way, but we did see that he had rolled up something along with the running back last game.”

Alabama will look to remain undefeated when it hosts undefeated No. 2 Georgia next Saturday, Oct. 10. President Donald Trump is expected to attend the matchup.

Micah Nichols covers Alabama baseball, football, and basketball for Tide 100.9. Follow @MicahNichols0 on X for in-game updates, highlights, and more Crimson Tide coverage.