No. 7 Alabama travels to Starkville, Mississippi, to face off against a surging No. 16 Mississippi State on Saturday morning. The Crimson Tide won their third straight game against a Power Four opponent after obliterating South Carolina 49-18 last week.
Mississippi State outlasted No. 19 Missouri to stay undefeated and now seeks their first 5-0 start since 2014, when Dak Prescott led the Bulldogs to the No. 1 overall ranking. Mississippi State produced a 300-yard passer, 100-yard rusher and 100-yard receiver in the win.
This game features one of the great quarterback battles of the college football season as sophomores Kamario Taylor and Keelon Russell battle. The pair ranks among the national leaders in nearly every quarterback metric, including combining for 22 passing touchdowns.
Keep it locked here as CBS Sports provides you with live updates, highlights and analysis as Alabama battles Mississippi State on Saturday.
Mississippi State is ready for this moment, and there's a lot to like about the Bulldogs. Davis Wade Stadium will be packed. The Bulldogs have a better running game to surround Kamario Taylor. They've played more competitive games to build resilience. But like so many Alabama games before, the Tide will just find a way to pull away at the end in perhaps the best quarterback battle of the season. Pick: Alabama -6
Going from the FCS to the SEC is a big challenge, but Alabama center Racin Delgatty makes it look easy. The Cal Poly transfer has played every major snap at center and ranks among the higher-graded offensive linemen on the team.
Coaches picked him as the offensive (power) player of the week after the ECU game. Not bad for a one-year starter in the Big Sky.
Amid an underwhelming start to the 2026 season for many of college football's top quarterbacks, NFL general managers may find themselves wishing that Kamario Taylor and Keelon Russell were draft-eligible. But franchises will have to wait until at least 2028 to get their hands on the sophomore stars, who are squaring off on Saturday.
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- It feels like the night before Christmas.
Is that new Xbox going to be under the tree? Or did the Grinch from Tuscaloosa steal all the presents once again?
There's real excitement around the Mississippi State football program as it prepares to play No. 7 Alabama in Davis-Wade Stadium this Saturday. The Bulldogs are undefeated and ranked No. 16 in the country, the program's highest ranking since 2022. It's a sell-out crowd for an 11 a.m. CT kickoff that will get the national game treatment on ABC. The night before country music star Hardy will perform at Humphrey Coliseum, Mississippi State's basketball arena.
"Probably the biggest (game) I can remember just because of all the other stuff we have going into it," says Mississippi State athletic director Zac Selmon.
