Alabama Football vs. Mississippi State Postgame Notes
11/14/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
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GAME CAPTAINS: Alabama's captains for Saturday's SEC West road contest at Mississippi State were seniors Denzel Devall and Ryan Kelly, and junior A'Shawn Robinson. The Crimson Tide won the opening toss and deferred to the second half, with the Bulldogs receiving the opening kick.
SERIES HISTORY: With the 31-6 win over the Bulldogs, the Crimson Tide holds a 78-18-3 (80-17-3 actual including vacated and forfeited games) advantage against the Bulldogs and is currently riding an eight-game win streak in the series.
BEATING THE BEST: With the win over No. 17 Mississippi State, Alabama owns a 37-13 (.740) mark against the Associated Press top 25.
NON-OFFENSIVE TDs IN THE SABAN ERA: Cyrus Jones returned a punt 69 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter against Mississippi State, the 42nd non-offensive touchdown of the Nick Saban era. This season, the Tide had recorded six non-offense touchdowns. Since Saban took over in 2007, the Crimson Tide has garnered 16 interception returns, 10 punt returns, five kickoff returns, four fumble returns and four blocked punt returns for a touchdown.
SABAN VS. MISSISSIPPI STATE: With the 31-6 victory, Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban is 13-1 in his career against Mississippi State, with his only loss coming in his first visit to Starkville as the Tide's head coach in 2007. Saban is 8-1 against the Bulldogs in his nine years at Alabama. Saban was 5-0 against Mississippi State while serving as head coach at LSU from 2000-04. The Tigers outscored the Bulldogs, 214-57, in those five games. Alabama has outscored MSU 211-60 in the last seven games and 223-87 during Saban's tenure.
ROAD RECORD vs. TOP-25 TEAMS: With the win over the Bulldogs, Alabama is 23-2 in regular season games (does not include bowl games) away from Bryant-Denny Stadium since the start of the 2011 season. The Crimson Tide is 4-0 this season with wins over No. 20 Wisconsin in Arlington, at eighth-ranked Georgia, at College Station against No. 9 Texas A&M, and against Mississippi State in Starkville on Saturday. Alabama was 5-1 in 2014, 4-1 in 2013, 6-0 in 2012 and 5-0 in 2011.
SABAN'S ROAD RECORD: With the win over Mississippi State, head coach Nick Saban owns a 59-29-1 mark in road games across his four career stops, including a 31-6 mark while at Alabama. Saban has notched four perfect road seasons (2008, 2009, 2011, 2012) and has lost more than one game on the road in only two seasons (2007, 2010). Including Saturday's win over Mississippi State, Saban, is riding a six-game winning streak, rebounding from an early season loss in Oxford to Ole Miss last season to come back and defeat Arkansas (14-13), Tennessee (34-20) and LSU (20-13 OT) on the way to winning the SEC Western Division and eventually the Crimson Tide's 24th SEC Championship in program history.
SABAN'S SEC ROAD RECORD: With the win at Mississippi State, Nick Saban is 41-14 overall in Southeastern Conference road games during his time at LSU and Alabama. While with the Crimson Tide, Saban is 29-6 and is currently riding a six-game SEC road winning streak dating back to a 14-13 victory over Arkansas in Fayetteville on Oct. 11, 2014. All but one of his losses (South Carolina, 2010) at Alabama have been by seven points or less. His teams have collected a perfect road SEC schedule in five different seasons, including one at LSU (2003) and four at Alabama (2008, 2009, 2011, 2012).
SABAN VS. SEC OPPONENTS: With the win at Mississippi State, Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban owns a 93-26 career record in 119 games against SEC opponents across three different stops (Michigan State, LSU and Alabama). While at Alabama, he has compiled a 63-13 record against conference foes, and is outscoring opponents by a staggering 3,038-1,172, or 39.9-15.4 points per game. Of his 13 losses against SEC opponents while at Alabama, all but two (Florida, 2008 and South Carolina, 2010) have been by seven points or less. Saban's first matchup with an SEC team came in the 1995 Independence Bowl against LSU, where his Michigan State Spartans fell, 45-26, to the Tigers. He would later go on to coach LSU to 30-12 overall record against conference opponents.
91-6 UNDER SABAN WHEN LEADING AT THE HALF: Alabama led Mississippi State, 21-3, heading into halftime. Under head coach Nick Saban, the Crimson Tide is 91-6 (.938) when leading at the half. Alabama has led at the half in seven of its 10 games this year, trailing Ole Miss and Arkansas, and tied at 7-7 versus Tennessee at the midway point. UA had converted 36 straight halftime leads into wins before falling at Auburn on Nov. 30, 2013. The Crimson Tide had converted 28 consecutive halftime leads into victories before seeing that streak snapped in 2010 against LSU. The first two losses in that run (when leading at the break) came against LSU, followed by a defeat to Auburn in 2010. In 2007, Alabama held a 20-17 halftime lead before losing to LSU, 41-34, in 2007 at Bryant-Denny Stadium. In 2010, the Tide led 10-3 at the half before the Tigers rallied for a 24-20 win in Death Valley. Alabama lost 28-27 to Auburn to close out the 2010 season, after leading 24-7 at the half. The Crimson Tide is 4-8 under Saban when trailing at halftime after coming away with a victory against Arkansas on Oct. 10, despite trailing 7-3 at half. The four wins in the Saban era when trailing at the half: 34-24 over No. 7 Virginia Tech in 2009 (in Atlanta); a 24-15 over No. 9 LSU in 2009; 24-20 at Arkansas in 2010; 27-14 vs. Arkansas in 2015. His Tide teams are 4-3 when tied at halftime, and Alabama's four wins under Saban when tied at halftime: at LSU in 2008, (27-21), at Auburn in 2009 (26-21), against Tennessee in 2011 (37-6) and against Tennessee this season (19-14).
ALABAMA'S TV?RECORD: Alabama has compiled a 234-131-4 (.639) all-time record in 369 televised games (not including pay-per-view, tape-delayed or closed circuit telecasts).
10 POINTS OR FEWER: Alabama held Mississippi State to six points on Saturday in a 31-6 win. Under head coach Nick Saban, the Crimson Tide has held opponents to 10 points or fewer 55 times since the start of the 2007 season. The Mississippi State game marked the fourth time this season that Alabama has held an opponent to 10 points or less. Last year, Alabama shut out two opponents, including Texas A&M on Oct. 18. Alabama held 9-of-13 opponents to 10 points or less in 2013 with three shutouts. Seven opponents were limited to 10 points or less in 2012, four of which were shutouts. Alabama was successful in holding opponents in the 0-10 point range in nine games in 2011 and eight times in 2010. UA kept opponents within that range seven times in both 2008 and 2009, and in 2007 posted two games in which it held opponents to 0-10 points. Alabama has shut out the opposition 16 times during the Saban era.
ALABAMA DEFENSE SETS SEASON HIGH FOR SACKS: The Crimson Tide defense recorded nine sacks against Mississippi State, a season high, surpassing the previous high of six which the Tide compiled against ULM on Sept. 26 and also at Texas A&M on Oct. 17. The performance against Mississippi State is the most by an Alabama defense since the Tide racked up nine sacks against Vanderbilt on Sept. 12, 1998. Alabama has posed 38 sacks this season, the most by a Tide defense in a single season under head coach Nick Saban. That is also the most since 2002 when the Crimson Tide had 44.
ALLEN'S SACK MARK: Jonathan Allen finished today's game with 3.0 sacks, a career high for the junior defensive end. It was the first time an Alabama player has recorded three sacks in a game since Courtney Upshaw did it against Auburn on Nov. 26, 2010.
ALLEN SETS CAREER HIGH FOR TACKLES: Junior defensive end Jonathan Allen finished today's game with seven tackles. The seven stops surpasses his previous career high of five, which he accomplished three other times, most recently at Texas A&M this season.
ROBINSON SETS CAREER-HIGH MARK FOR SACKS: Junior defensive tackle A'Shawn Robinson recorded 2.5 sacks against Mississippi State, all in the first half, a season-high for an Alabama defender this season. The 2.5 sacks also set a career high for Robinson, whose previous high total was two sacks at Kentucky in 2013.
ANDERSON SETS CAREER HIGH FOR SACKS: Junior linebacker Ryan Anderson notched two sacks against Mississippi State, the most he has had in a single game in his Alabama career.
RAGLAND LEADING THE D: Senior linebacker Reggie Ragland had eight tackles against Mississippi State. The Tide's captain in the middle has a team-leading 82 tackles, including 5.5 for a loss (-20 yards), to go with five pass breakups, three quarterback hurries, 2.5 sacks (-10 yards) and two forced fumbles. In six of the 10 games this season, Ragland has led the Alabama defense in stops, including a season-high 12 tackles in the win against Tennessee on Oct. 24.
FIRST HALF POINTS: With Cyrus Jones' 69-yard punt return for a touchdown in the second quarter against Mississippi State, the Crimson Tide has scored in the first half of its last 113 games, the longest streak in the nation. The last time UA failed to score in the first half was on Sept. 29, 2007, when Alabama and Florida State headed into halftime in a scoreless tie. The Seminoles won that game, 21-14. The Crimson Tide has a 97-16 record during the streak.
SCORING STREAK CONTINUES: With a 69-yard punt return for a score by Cyrus Jones in the second quarter, Alabama has now scored in 193 consecutive games -- the longest streak in program history.
RUSHING TO SUCCESS: Alabama rushed for 235 yards against Mississippi State. The Crimson Tide is 75-4 since the start of the 2008 season when rushing for at least 140 yards. The only losses were at Auburn in 2013, Ole Miss and Ohio State in 2014, and Ole Miss in 2015.
AN HISTORIC PERFORMANCE FOR HENRY: With 204 yards rushing against Mississippi State, Derrick Henry eclipsed the 200-yard mark in rushing yards for the third time this season. Henry, who rushed for 210 yards last week (Nov. 7) against LSU, became first back in Alabama history to post consecutive 200-yard rushing performances. He is the second back in Alabama history to rush for 200 three times in a single season, joining Bobby Humphrey who did it in 1986, at Mississippi State (284 yards), at Tennessee (220 yards) and vs. Auburn (204 yards).
HENRY MOVING UP IN THE RECORD BOOKS: Both Derrick Henry and Kenyan Drake continued their rise up the career rushing list against Mississippi State. Henry rushed for 204 yards and has now amassed 2,830 yards for his career to rank seventh in Alabama history. Henry finished the Mississippi State game with 1,458 rushing yards in 2015, the fourth-highest single-season total in Alabama history.
Derrick Henry vs. RANKED TEAMS: Derrick Henry has had an impressive overall season, but his play against the six ranked opponents Alabama has faced -- No. 20 Wisconsin, No. 15 Ole Miss, No. 8 Georgia, No. 9 Texas A&M, No. 4 LSU and No. 17 Mississippi State -- has been even better. Henry is rushing for 178.7 yards per game (1,072 yards) against ranked teams, with all six games over 125 yards and three over 200 yards (236 at A&M; 210 vs. LSU; 204 at Mississippi State). He has 154 carries against ranked teams for a 6.9 yards per carry average and 12 touchdowns.
HENRY REACHING THE END ZONE CONSISTENTLY: Derrick Henry's 74-yard rush up the middle for a touchdown in the second quarter moved his consecutive games with a touchdown streak to 15. The 15-game streak is currently the longest active streak in the nation, and the longest by an SEC player in the past 20 years eclipsing Tim Tebow's streak of 14 games that he set from 2006-07. The streak is also the longest in Alabama history, with the previous high being 10 by Terry Davis across the 1971 and 1972 seasons.
HENRY MOVING UP IN THE SINGLE-SEASON RANKS: Derrick Henry's two rushing scores at Mississippi State moved him into a tie for second place for the most touchdowns in a single season by an Alabama running back with 19, matching Shaun Alexander and two behind the all-time leader Trent Richardson, who recorded 21 in 2011.
HENRY ON RECORD-SETTING PACE: Derrick Henry has rushed for 1,458 yards and 19 touchdowns through 10 games this season, and is currently averaging 145.8 yards and 1.9 scores per contest. If he were to continue at his current pace, Henry would finish the regular season with 292 yards and four touchdowns over the final two games for a single-season school-record total of 1,750 and a Tide record 23 TDs. Extended to include a bowl game (13th), Henry is on pace for 1,896 yards. The Crimson Tide's single-season leader for yards is Trent Richardson with 1,679 (283 attempts) in 2011. The Alabama single-season leader for touchdowns is also Richardson with 21 during that 2011 season.
HENRY PASSING THE CENTURY MARK: Derrick Henry's 204-yard performance against Mississippi State pushed him past the century mark for the 13th time in his career, and the seventh 100-plus game this season. The 13 career 100-yard games ties him for third place with Trent Richardson in the Alabama annals. His seven 100-yard performances this season are tied with Shaun Alexander (1999) and Sherman Williams (1994) for the third-most in a single season. Henry, who rushed for 210 yards against LSU on Nov. 4, notched 143 yards against Tennessee a week after going for a career-high 236 yards at Texas A&M. Prior to A&M, Henry rushed for 148 at Georgia on Oct. 3. He went for 127 against Ole Miss and 147 yards with three touchdowns against Wisconsin to open the 2015 campaign. Henry had a 141-yard performance against Missouri in the SEC Championship Game last season. He also went for 111 on 20 carries with a score against Florida and 113 on 17 carries with a touchdown against West Virginia in 2014. As a freshman, Henry produced a Sugar Bowl game against Oklahoma that saw the first-year back go for 100 yards on eight attempts with a touchdown, while also collecting 111 yards on six carries with a score against Arkansas.
HENRY STANDING OUT AS A STARTER: Junior Derrick Henry earned the starting nod at tailback in this season's opener and has filled that role every game since. With 204 yards rushing this evening against Mississippi State, in 12 games as a starter he has rushed for 1,660 yards on 265 carries (6.26 yards per carry) with 21 touchdowns. Prior to 2015, Henry started just two games - Western Carolina and Ohio State in 2014. He has collected at least one rushing touchdown in each start, and has notched double-digit scoring days seven times. Through the air, he has hauled in 12 passes for 132 yards (11.0 yards per catch) with one receiving score.
RIDLEY GOES FOR HUGE SCORES: Freshman wideout Calvin Ridley has notched four touchdown catches this season, three of which have gone for 45 yards or more. His second career TD was a 45-yard strike against Georgia, and he followed that with an 81-yard reception against Arkansas the very next week. Today's touchdown score came on a screen that the freshman took for a 60-yard score. His other touchdown catch this season was a 15-yard reception against ULM, the first receiving score of his career.
PUNT RETURN TOUCHDOWN FOR JONES: Cyrus Jones' 69-yard punt return for a touchdown was the first of his career (37 returns prior to the score). It was also Alabama's first punt returned for a touchdown since Christion Jones took one back 75 yards against Chattanooga on Nov. 23, 2013.
