Alabama @ Mississippi State preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 13, 2010 ) Mississippi State 10, Alabama 30

THE STORY: At No. 3 in the BCS rankings, Alabama's national championship hopes are far from dead after last week's 9-6 overtime loss to No. 1 LSU. The Crimson Tide will try to stay in the mix for a rematch when they travel to Mississippi State. The Bulldogs have won two straight and three of their past four games, but only one of those wins was against an SEC opponent. Alabama has won three straight and eight of 10 in the series and is 73-18-3 all-time against the Bulldogs. Alabama is 14-2 in road games since 2008.

TV: ESPN, ESPN3.com. LINE: Alabama -17.5.

ABOUT ALABAMA (8-1, 5-1 SEC West): The Crimson Tide ranks first in the nation in total defense (187.0), scoring defense (7.1), rushing defense (56.3) and pass defense (130.7). The defense did its job against LSU, holding the Tigers to three field goals. But the offense was unable to find the end zone, and the Crimson Tide missed three field goals and had a fourth blocked. Alabama has held 10 straight opponents to 14 points or fewer dating back to last season's Capital One Bowl against Michigan State. Alabama should get more support from running back Trent Richardson and the offense against a Mississippi State team that allows 161.2 rushing yards per game. With 2,529 rushing yards, Richardson needs 75 yards to surpass Bobby Marlow for seventh on the school's all-time list.

ABOUT MISSISSIPPI STATE (5-4, 1-4): All four of the Bulldogs' losses have come against ranked opponents, and the offense has struggled in three of the four. Mississippi State has scored 12 points or fewer in three of its losses, the exception a 41-34 setback at Auburn on Sept. 10. The Bulldogs have had their share of offensive success against lesser opponents using a combination of pocket passer Tyler Russell and mobile Chris Relf at quarterback, and senior running back Vick Ballard has rushed for 790 yards and seven touchdowns. The key for the Bulldogs is taking care of the ball - they are 15-0 under coach Dan Mullen when they force more turnovers than they commit.

EXTRA POINTS:

1. The Crimson Tide have held opponents to less than 300 total yards in 37 of 62 games under coach Nick Saban, including all nine this season. They allowed a season-high 251 total yards to Penn State in the opener.

2. Mississippi State has lost 20 straight against top 10 opponents dating to a 47-35 victory over No. 3 Florida in 2000.

3. Alabama is 45-3 when leading at halftime under Saban.

PREDICTION: Alabama 30, Mississippi State 13 - Richardson will run wild, and the Crimson Tide will get back on track.