TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama finds itself in a very familiar position as it gets set to face Mississippi State.
Similar to last season, the Crimson Tide comes into its annual meeting with the Bulldogs fresh off of a loss. That arrangement has occurred now five times in Alabama's 10 regular season losses under Nick Saban with the Crimson Tide winning its prior four matchups with the Bulldogs coming off a loss.
Mississippi State is also coming off of a loss, falling to No. 19 Kentucky on the road. The Bulldogs, who average more than 427 yards of total offense, were limited to just 225 yards against the Wildcats.
Despite the hiccup, Saban reiterated that the Bulldogs are "an outstanding team" during his Monday press conference.
"Mike Leach is one of the most difficult guys offensively to try to defend relative to their offense," Saban said. "The quarterback, Will Rogers, does a great job of that. They're one of the leading passing teams in the country. They've got a good receiving corps. I think they're running the ball more effectively this year than maybe in years past.
"Their defense is very aggressive, creates a lot of turnovers, does a lot of pressuring the quarterback. They're good on special teams. They've got good specialists so it's going to be a challenging game for us. And we'll see how our players respond to the situation that we've created for ourselves."
With both SEC West foes set to renew their rivalry on Saturday, here's a look at how the Crimson Tide and Bulldogs stack up on paper based on their high school star ratings.
*Used first Mississippi State and Alabama players at each position based on their depth charts, though there are many OR spots.*
