The Alabama Crimson Tide cannot afford to let up. The team is coming off a big and emotional win against the LSU Tigers that saw the Tide jump up to No.2 in the College Football Playoff rankings, but the team still has a lot of work in front of them. Another big test awaits Alabama on Saturday as they prepare to play a Mississippi State peaking at the right time behind quarterback Dak Prescott.
Alabama does not have time to celebrate the win over LSU or ready their own press regarding the dominance of the defense because Mississippi State awaits sitting at No.17. The Tide currently sit in the driver's seat of the SEC West after beating LSU while Mississippi lost. However, the Bulldogs can upset all of that with an upset win as Alabama needs to keep the intensity high against the SEC West rivals. Head coach Nick Saban has been stressing that the team cannot afford a letdown after such an emotional win as the Bulldogs have plenty of talent while Prescott is very much the talent he was last year.
Mississippi State might not have Leonard Fournette running in the backfield, Prescott is just has dangerous. The quarterback has just one interception on the season while he has thrown for over 300 yards in this past three games with 10 touchdowns. The quarterback has been flying under the radar for much of this season, but he is a real threat while playmakers like De'Runnya Wilson have been thriving at the right time. He could cause some real headaches for the Alabama defense as he has 360 yards and six touchdowns over the past four games.
"Any time you've got a quarterback like (Prescott) and you've got guys like Wilson who can go up and get it at any time they need a big play, you've got to do your job," linebacker Reggie Ragland said, via ESPN.com.
Alabama has struggled this season in follow-up games to big wins. After beating Georgia, they scooted by Arkansas before barely getting by Tennessee. They cannot afford the same thing against Mississippi State who have the right amount of talent to upset the Tide and break a losing streak against their conference opponent. If the defense struggles, the offense with Jake Coker and Derrick Henry will make sure they are as efficient as they were against LSU.
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