"Expert" Predictions for the Alabama-Mississippi State game

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When: Saturday, Nov. 14; 3:30 p.m. ET

Last meeting: Alabama built a 19-0 lead and held on to win 25-20 at home over previously unbeaten Mississippi State last November.

What to watch for

Alabama (8-1, 5-1 SEC) has won six in a row and is coming off its biggest result of the year, a convincing 30-16 home victory over LSU. The Crimson Tide, well known for being able to minimize opponents' best weapons, completely shut down FBS rushing leader Leonard Fournette, while their own bruising running back thrust himself into the Heisman race.

Derrick Henry has 589 rushing yards and seven touchdowns in Alabama's last three games and has 17 scores with a 5.75 yards-per-carry average for the season.

“The last running back to win the Heisman also came from Alabama, Mark Ingram in 2009,” USA Today's Thomas O'Toole wrote, noting that Henry sits first in the newspaper's latest Heisman survey.

By shutting down Fournette, 'Bama forced LSU to turn elsewhere to find a way to win, and it had no answers. It's a tactic the Tide will use again this week in dealing with Dak Prescott.

Prescott became the 10th player in SEC history to surpass 10,000 yards of total offense while also reaching 100 total TDs last Thursday against Missouri. Mississippi State (7-2, 3-2) went on to win 31-13, its fourth straight victory. The Bulldogs have quietly hung around in the West Division race but would need to win out and get some help to finish at the top.

MSU will only go as far as Prescott takes it, and when he struggled early last year against Alabama, it ended the Bulldogs' unbeaten run and knocked him out of the Heisman race. The Tide have been as impressive as any team in the country since losing to Ole Miss, which won't change despite a strong challenge from MSU.

Prediction: Alabama 30, Mississippi State 20

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