Tide Illustrated staff reporter Dean Harrell spoke with BulldogBlitz staff writer Jack Byers to get some insight on this week's matchup between No.12 Alabama and the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

Now that Zach Arnett has taken the reins of the program, how do you think he will fare up against the Crimson Tide. Seeing how Alabama has had to scheme against Mike Leach for the past several years, how do you think the head coaching change will force Nick Saban to plan differently?

Arnett opted to change things up offensively for the Bulldogs when he brought in Kevin Barbay from Appalachian State. While Leach’s Air Raid was one that wanted to sustain long drives with short and intermediate passes, Barbay’s offense is a bit more typical of what you see in college football. What remains the same is that everything is run out of shotgun, but the Bulldogs are more focused on running the football and creating more explosive plays in the passing game through play action. When teams faced Mississippi State in the past, they’d steer away from their base defense to rush three and drop eight into coverage, but now with a more balanced offense I’d expect Nick Saban to run what he normally does defensively.

While Will Rogers is the headline man of the offense and Jett Johnson is the primary defender on defense, who are some of the players on the Bulldog roster that go "under the radar," but still make a huge impact every week?

On the offensive side, Tulu Griffin is having a breakout season. He’s been an All-American at kick returner but is finally coming into his own at wide receiver. Under Mike Leach, Griffin played outside, but he’s been playing the slot this season which is his more natural spot. He’s a weapon that the Bulldogs like to use in the screen game, and last week he took the top off the South Carolina defense numerous times, setting the Mississippi State record with 256 yards.

On the defensive side, Shawn Preston has been a consistent playmaker in the Bulldog secondary. He’s a safety that’s always looking for a hard hit and has already forced two fumbles this season. It’s come at a cost though as he was ejected for targeting against LSU two weeks ago. Preston is also a player that doesn’t get beat over the top very often and snagged an interception against Arizona.

The last time these two teams have had a matchup resulting in less than a 24-point margin of victory was in 2017 in Starkville. With Alabama not being the top dog as it was before, do you think Mississippi State can keep it a competitive game at home this season?

I think Mississippi State can keep it within 24, but I don’t really see this game being competitive. Mississippi State’s offensive line has really struggled this season, and it’s hard to see that improving against such a talented Alabama defense. With Will Rogers not being a mobile quarterback, when the offensive line struggles it really kills the entire offense.

Defensively, the Bulldogs have really taken a step back and have given up too many explosive plays this season. The loss of Emmanuel Forbes to the NFL Draft has left them without a true number one cornerback, and teams have been able to attack them deep when they’re in man coverage. Tt defensive line, which I’d consider a strongpoint, currently has three guys banged up in De'Monte Russell, Kalvin Dinkins, and Trevion Williams which hurts their depth. Jaden Crumedy and Nathan Pickering are phenomenal players up front, but they’ll be asked to play more snaps than normal which could see them get fatigued as the game progresses.

Now that Jalen Milroe has established himself as the starting quarterback for this Alabama offense, how do you think the Bulldog defense will try to contain him after having to prepare for Bryce Young the past couple of seasons?

The kryptonite of Mississippi State’s defense the last couple of seasons has been facing mobile quarterbacks. Jayden Daniels gave the Bulldogs a lot of problems two weeks ago and Spencer Rattler rushed for his career-high last week. Milroe’s athleticism certainly presents a challenge and I would expect them to show different looks and use different players as spies. We’ve also seen the Bulldogs also run a lot of man coverage which is something Milroe could take advantage of against a struggling cornerback group.

With Alabama's offensive line having struggles with occasional false starts and numerous bad snaps, how do you think the cowbells and the overall crowd atmosphere in Starkville are going to affect the Crimson Tide's front five?

The Cowbells certainly present a challenge, however, I feel like it affects the quarterback more than it does the offensive line. Cowbells aren’t allowed to be rung while the center has his hand on the ball, and the fans for the most part usually oblige to it. The noise is something that could affect play calls in the huddle, but I don’t think it’s anything that will affect the game too much.