Who are the MS State vs. Alabama game announcers today on ESPN? All you need to know about Week 5 game’s coverage team
Nick Saban's Alabama is in Starkville, Mississippi, for their Week 5 encounter with Mississippi State. This is just the second SEC encounter in the season so far for the Crimson Tide, which is currently ranked No. 12 in the AP Poll, following their 24-10 victory over Lane Kiffin's Ole Miss in Week 4.
Alabama is currently 3-1 in their season, having suffered a heavy defeat at home in Week 2 versus Steve Sarkisian's Texas Longhorns. The Austin school rolled into Bryant Denny Stadium led by Quinn Ewers and won 34-24. The defeat exposed some issues on the offensive side of things for the Saban-led squad.
In Week 4, Saban engineered a victory with the help of his defense, holding Ole Miss to their lowest score in Lane Kiffin's tenure. The O-line was again unable to defend Jalen Milroe. He got sacked four times.
The Mississippi State Bulldogs will be walking onto the game with a 2-2 record. The Bulldogs have lost their two crucial SEC matchups so far. They suffered consecutive losses to LSU and South Carolina in weeks 3 and 4, respectively. The loss against the Gamecocks was especially close, with them getting between a touchdown of tying the game with 2:13 minutes left in the clock. The Bulldogs were unable to pull the fourth-quarter heroics, and South Carolina won 37-30.
The game will air through ESPN tonight at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time, with Mark Jones doing the play calling, Rod Gilmore providing the color commentary, and Quint Kessenich in the role of sideline reporter.
What should we expect of Alabama vs. Mississippi State tonight?
'Bama is a 15-point favorite for tonight's game. While Alabama has issues with the consistency of their quarterback and the ability of their O-line to afford him protection, they're overall a far better team than Mississippi State.
Mississippi State does have the offensive power to trouble the Crimson Tide, but they need to be more efficient with it. While Bulldogs quarterback Will Rogers threw for a career-high 487 yards, he only had one touchdown pass. In comparison, South Carolina's Spencer Rattler had 288 yards with three touchdown passes.
Alabama needs their defense to show up again (like they did versus Ole Miss), and they need for Milroe to have a good but not great game. Last week, he threw for 225 yards with one touchdown pass but had another interception.