By BJ Bennett
SouthernPigskin.com

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Alabama beats Mississippi State 41-0.

1. Another Saturday, another near-perfect effort for Alabama. On Nick Saban’s 69th birthday, the Crimson Tide earned a shutout, scored a defensive touchdown, topped 500 yards of total offense and held Mississippi State to barely over 150. Quarterback Mac Jones threw four more touchdown passes, running back Najee Harris ran for 119 more yards and DeVonta Smith caught eleven more passes for 204 more yards and four more scores, tying Amari Cooper for the most touchdown receptions in Alabama history. The Crimson Tide did what most expected them to do and that continues to be both the Alabama standard and the Saban standard.

2. Smith is unstoppable. He made everything look so easy Saturday night, torching the Bulldogs for remarkable production that college football has now come to expect. On the season, Smith now has 56 receptions for 759 yards and eight touchdowns. Clearly, Smith is college football’s best receiver. For him to already have tied Amari Cooper with 31 career touchdown catches it is a testament to Smith’s incredible ability. In a career with many, Saturday was a performance to remember for Smith.

3. This was Alabama’s best defensive performance of the season by far. For starters, zero points allowed speaks for itself. The Crimson Tide didn’t even let Mississippi State get close. Alabama held the Bulldogs to nine first downs and 37 rushing yards. Alabama gave up an incredibly-low 3.2 yards per pass attempt. Patrick Surtain II scored on a late pick-six. Dylan Moses recorded an interception. All of the way around, the Crimson Tide defense dominanted.

4. It can easy to overlook Najee Harris with some of the passing numbers Alabama puts up each week, but his consistent production is staggering. Harris now has 570 rushing yards and nine touchdowns over the past four games alone. He quietly continues to add to his legacy as one of the Crimson Tide’s top running backs ever.

5. Mike Leach has continue to tinker to find some offensive productivity. That’s easier said than done against Alabama, but Mississippi State’s struggles continue to worsen. Quarterback K.J. Costello had a scary head injury on Saturday night that required him to leave the game. Hopefully he is OK.