By GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
Only 85 miles separate Tuscaloosa, Alabama, from Starkville, Mississippi, down U.S. Highway 82.
Just a 90-minute drive, and the Alabama football team took that this morning by bus from Tuscaloosa as it usually does for this game and for the Auburn game 157 miles and three hours away. Like in high school.
Compared to Alabama, though, Mississippi State at times historically has been like a big high school.
The trip west on 82 from Tuscaloosa is into another dimension of sight, sound and history as the Crimson Tide and the Mississippi State Bulldogs are worlds apart in college football and always have been.
-Alabama has won 18 national championships in football and five others not generally recognized … Mississippi State has won zero.
-Alabama has won 30 Southeastern Conference championships and 18 division titles in the former SEC West. … Mississippi State won one SEC regular season title in 1941 and one SEC West crown in 1998.
-Alabama has 85 consensus All-Americans. … Mississippi State has three.
-Alabama has hosted ESPN’s College GameDay 20 times. … Mississippi State has hosted once when the No. 3 Bulldogs beat No. 2 Auburn, 38-23, on Oct. 11, 2014.
-Alabama leads the series with its closest neighbor by 86-18-3 and has won 16 straight. It also won 22 in a row from 1958-79. Mississippi State’s last win over Alabama was, 17-13, on Nov. 10, 2007, in Starkville in Alabama coach Nick Saban’s first season with the Tide. He finished 7-6 with a 21-14 loss to the likes of Louisiana-Monroe and only had a winning season because he beat Colorado, 30-24, in the Independence Bowl in Shreveport.
But today, State is no glorified high school in Starkville, aka Stark-Vegas or Stark-Patch – population 25,754.
The Bulldogs (4-0, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) are No. 16 in the nation and just a 5.5-point underdog to No. 7 Alabama (4-0, 2-0) for its 11 a.m. kickoff on ABC. State beat No. 19 Missouri, 31-24, last week and has road wins at Minnesota, 38-13, and at South Carolina, 41-34.
See You Soon! #HailState || @Ford pic.twitter.com/qhJ2Jaf4o4
— Mississippi State Football (@HailStateFB) October 3, 2026
“It means absolutely zero to me and our guys,” Mississippi State coach Jeff Lebby (above) said when asked about the 16-game losing streak the Bulldogs have against Alabama.
Lebby is a former offensive coordinator (2020-21) under LSU coach Lane Kiffin when Kiffin was at Ole Miss. Lebby is in his third season at State, following a 2-10 (0-8 SEC) season in 2024 and 5-8 (1-7 SEC) last year.
“We’re concerned with just being as good as we possibly can be on Saturday,” Lebby said. “Just be us.”
Lebby’s offense is No. 4 in the country with 533.3 yards a game – eight spots ahead of Kiffin’s at LSU – 12th with 502 a game, and State will be at LSU on Oct. 17. Lebby has his own Trinidad Chambliss in sophomore quarterback Kamario Taylor from Noxubee County High and Macon, Mississippi.
Taylor (6-foot-4, 230 pounds) was the No. 30 prospect in the nation coming out of high school, No. 7 quarterback an dNo. 2 player in the state. He enters Saturday’s game No. 6 in the nation and No. 2 in the SEC in passing efficiency at 187.8 on 83-of-120 passing for 1,192 yards and 14 touchdowns with two interceptions. Taylor has also rushed 37 times for 185 yards and a touchdown.
LSU will also be keeping an eye on Alabama sophomore quarterback Keelon Russell (6-3, 207), who will be in Tiger Stadium on Nov. 7. Russell is No. 17 in the nation and No. 4 in efficiency at 177.5 on 78-of-110 passing for 1,129 yards and eight touchdowns with 168 rushing yards and three TDs on 32 carries.
“It’s going to be an incredible challenge,” Lebby said. “But again our guys are excited about that piece of it. I liked their attitude and their energy in the building this week.”
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