Alabama Crimson Tide vs Mississippi State Bulldogs Match Player Stats On Oct 16, 2021

Bryce Young threw for 348 yards and four touchdowns Saturday night as No. 5 Alabama authored a predictable rebound from last week's upset loss at Texas A&M, walloping Mississippi State 49-9 in Starkville, Miss.

Young completed 20 of 28 passes, connecting on scoring strikes of 46, 75, 51 and 29 yards to John Metchie, Jameson Williams, Brian Robinson Jr. and Traseshon Holden. The Crimson Tide (6-1, 3-1 SEC) rolled up 543 yards and made 12 of 16 third-down conversions.

Alabama's defense, which was riddled by Texas A&M sophomore Zach Calzada last week, exacted a pound of flesh out of Bulldogs quarterback Will Rogers.

Rogers hit 35 of 55 passes for 300 yards, but he was intercepted three times and was under constant pressure most of the game. He absorbed seven sacks and played through a right shoulder injury for most of the last three quarters after taking a hard hit.

Mississippi State (3-3, 1-2) rushed for minus 1 yard on 19 attempts.

The Tide needed just 4:26 to take the lead for good. Young hit Metchie with a short pass over the middle, and the wide receiver ran through an arm-tackle on his way to six points.

Brandon Ruiz drilled a 44-yard field goal with 6:52 left in the first quarter to get the Bulldogs on the board, but Jordan Battle made it 14-3 when he picked off Rogers and rumbled 40 yards down the right sideline for a touchdown.

Robinson bulled in from the 1 with 3:15 left in the second quarter for a 21-3 advantage, and Ruiz hit from 37 yards with 59 seconds remaining to make it 21-6 Alabama at halftime.

Any chance Mississippi State had to make a game of it disappeared almost immediately in the third quarter. Richardson took a short pass and zipped down the left sideline, getting a key block late for a touchdown just 14 seconds into the period.

After Ruiz connected on another 37-yarder for the Bulldogs, Robinson turned the game into a laugher with his touchdown reception and then a 3-yard scoring run.

--Field Level Media