No. 7 Alabama routs No. 16 Mississippi State 56-23 as Keelon Russell stars once again

Alabama quarterback Keelon Russell just might be the best quarterback in the SEC.Russell outplayed Mississippi State QB Kamario Taylor in the No. 7 Crimson Tide's 56-23 win over the No. 16 Bulldogs on Saturday. And it really wasn't close, either.Russell threw for three touchdowns and ran for another, while Taylor committed three turnovers. Mississippi State never led, and the game slipped away from the Bulldogs in the third quarter after Taylor's second interception.After Alabama scored a touchdown on its first possession of the second half to open up a 35-17 lead, MSU had a chance to stay within striking distance. But as running back Kolin Wilson leaked out of the backfield, Taylor overthrew him and the pass landed in the waiting arms of Caleb Woodson.Three plays later, Alabama running back Trae'Shawn Brown had his second rushing TD of the game. And the rout was on.A blip or a dose of reality for Mississippi State?The Bulldogs entered the game 4-0 and had started consecutive seasons with that record for the first time since World War II. In 2025, Mississippi State lost eight of its last nine games to finish 5-8.This season, it's hard to see that happening. But it's also easy to see that the truth of Mississippi State's season lies somewhere in the middle of this undefeated start and the mess that unfolded at home against the Crimson Tide.After becoming one of the breakout stars of September thanks to his ability to make nearly any throw, Taylor had an incredibly forgettable start. He fumbled on the fifth play of the game after he dropped the ball when trying to fake a pass. Three plays into the second drive, he bought himself time and then threw a pick 6 to Dijon Lee after Lee quickly read where Taylor wanted to throw.Add in a Sanfrisco Magee fumble and Mississippi State turned the ball over four times on Saturday. Leading running back Fluff Bothwell also left the game due to injury after just one carry and never returned.Taylor exited the game himself in the second half and slowly walked to the locker room. He finished 19-of-34 passing for 258 yards and three TDs with two interceptions.Fortunately for the Bulldogs, they're off in Week 6 before visiting No. 11 LSU. Then MSU hosts Oklahoma before heading to No. 1 Texas on Halloween.So much for a trap game for the Crimson TideEx-Alabama coach Nick Saban used that exact phrase on ESPN's "College GameDay" before picking his former employer to win. After all, Alabama hosts No. 2 Georgia in Week 6. Looking ahead to one of the biggest games of the year in college football would be understandable.Instead, Alabama showed just why next week's game may be even bigger than we thought.The Tide are not only contenders in the SEC. They look like legitimate national title contenders. That's not something that was said at the beginning of the season.This Alabama team started the season at No. 13 in the AP Top 25. That's more than respectable. But it was the first time Alabama had been ranked lower than eighth to start a season since 2008. That was Saban's second season.Until 2025, when Alabama started the season at No. 8, the Tide had been ranked in the top five in 16 straight AP Top 25s.One of the biggest questions about this iteration of Alabama was at quarterback after Russell beat Austin Mack for the starting job.So far, Russell is acing the test. He finished the game 16-of-22 passing for 285 yards and was able to watch much of the fourth quarter from the bench.Follow all of the action with live updates, highlights and analysis below: