"I'm going to go with Alabama in this game. For the reasons I mentioned earlier. I also like the matchup here. If you're watching for a player to really watch this weekend, keep your eyes on Amari Cooper. This is a Mississippi State secondary that's giving up 300 yards per game passing. I think Amari Cooper has a big game and might himself become one of the prime Heisman candidates if he gets behind that secondary. Especially if Mississippi State feels the need to sneak a safety up in the box to stop that potent Alabama rush attack- I think you're gonna see Amari Cooper running free in the secondary. So, I expect a big game from Amari Cooper. I see Alabama winning this one 34-17."
"When I look at Alabama, it's highly unusual. Generally with Alabama, they're great at home and great on the road. And this year, the defense is just like that. The defense is almost identical statistically home and away, among the best in the country. But when you look at them offensively, they're two different teams. With Blake Sims on the road, they've been struggling. At home, however, they've had two SEC games so far and they're averaging 637 yards of offense. They're averaging 250 yards of offense more at home than they are on the road. It seems like they open the playbook a little more, work Amari Cooper into the lineup, which opens up the run game, and they're a much more efficient team. So the fact that Alabama gets this game at home is big. Another factor in their favor is the experience level. Alabama's been in big games before. Mississippi State has had a streak coming into this season, where they haven't played well in big games. And I know earlier this year, they went into Death Valley and actually beat LSU, much easier than Alabama did. In fact, they led that game 34-10, but keep in mind, when that game happened, it was a young LSU team in just their fourth game and Mississippi State wasn't even ranked at the time. So it's not like LSU was getting all hyped up for Mississippi State. This is a team that they've beaten for 15 straight years and wasn't even ranked. I think they just came in and outplayed LSU. And now in this situation, everyone's interviewing Mississippi State, they've got more pressure on their back, they're in an unusual situation where there's so much national spotlight on them. Meanwhile for Alabama, it's another home game this week. Yeah, it's the number one team in the country, but I think they're more used to it. All those factors go into Alabama's favor this week.
"When I look at Alabama, it's highly unusual. Generally with Alabama, they're great at home and great on the road. And this year, the defense is just like that. The defense is almost identical statistically home and away, among the best in the country. But when you look at them offensively, they're two different teams. With Blake Sims on the road, they've been struggling. At home, however, they've had two SEC games so far and they're averaging 637 yards of offense. They're averaging 250 yards of offense more at home than they are on the road. It seems like they open the playbook a little more, work Amari Cooper into the lineup, which opens up the run game, and they're a much more efficient team. So the fact that Alabama gets this game at home is big. Another factor in their favor is the experience level. Alabama's been in big games before. Mississippi State has had a streak coming into this season, where they haven't played well in big games. And I know earlier this year, they went into Death Valley and actually beat LSU, much easier than Alabama did. In fact, they led that game 34-10, but keep in mind, when that game happened, it was a young LSU team in just their fourth game and Mississippi State wasn't even ranked at the time. So it's not like LSU was getting all hyped up for Mississippi State. This is a team that they've beaten for 15 straight years and wasn't even ranked. I think they just came in and outplayed LSU. And now in this situation, everyone's interviewing Mississippi State, they've got more pressure on their back, they're in an unusual situation where there's so much national spotlight on them. Meanwhile for Alabama, it's another home game this week. Yeah, it's the number one team in the country, but I think they're more used to it. All those factors go into Alabama's favor this week.
