Tiffin provides Tide offense

Leigh Tiffin did his job Saturday. The sophomore kicker scored all of Alabama’s points with four field goals on kicks of 39, 29, 51 and 50 yards.

The 51-yarder wasn’t only his longest for Alabama, it was his first college attempt over 50 yards.

The four kicks were the most by an Alabama kicker since Michael Proctor made four against Southern Mississippi in 1993.

“You always want to do your job, but I hate that we lost,” Tiffin said. “We’re here to win.”
Before the 51-yarder, which put the Tide ahead 9-0 in the second quarter, Alabama coach Nick Saban talked to his kicker.

“He asked before I went out there if I can make it. I went, ‘Yeah, let’s do it.’ I got pretty excited when we made it,” Tiffin said.

Johnson gets a pick
Rashad Johnson’s early interception of Bulldog freshman Wesley Carroll set up Alabama’s first score.

Johnson picked off a pass and returned it 8 yards to the Mississippi State 33. It was his sixth of the season, which ties him for seventh-most by an Alabama defender in a season. It was also Johnson’s fourth interception in the last five games.

It was the first interception Carroll had thrown. The MSU quarterback had started his season with 137 pass attempts without an interception.

Hall of honor
DJ Hall’s 16-yard catch early in the second quarter extended his streak of consecutive games with at least one reception to 29. He led Alabama with five catches for 46 yards, despite facing double coverage nearly all day.

“It was the same coverage he saw last week (against LSU),” Saban said. “A lot of roll-up coverage to him, not all the time. We have to read and trust and believe in what we read. The last couple weeks we haven’t done that on a consistent basis.”

Gilberry gets sack
Defensive end Wallace Gilberry recorded a sack against Wes Carroll for a loss of 11 yards. Gilberry now has eight sacks this season, all in the last five games. He also has 18 tackles for loss.

“We have to put this behind us,” Gilberry said of the loss. “We have to move on and forget about it.”

November blues
Alabama’s losing streak in the month of November has hit seven — and the Tide is 2-10 in its last 12 November games.

The streak goes back to Nov. 3, 2005, when Alabama beat Mississippi State.

Record return
Mississippi State’s Anthony Johnson set a school record with his game-changing 100-yard interception return for a touchdown just before halftime.

The previous mark was 97 yards by Jack Nix against Ole Miss in 1938. Johnson also returned a pick for a touchdown earlier this season. Mississippi State has returned five interceptions for scores this season, joining Hawaii and Wake Forest as tops in the nation.

Sack man
Tuscaloosa native Titus Brown ended the game by sacking Alabama quarterback John Parker Wilson. It was Brown’s eighth sack of the season. He now has 18.5 sacks for his career.

BEST/WORST

Best use of big plays: State didn’t make a whole lot happen but turned two interceptions into touchdowns and its defense made it stand up.

Best change of field position: Two great second-half punts by Mississippi State’s Blake McAdams significantly changed field position. The first, with about four minutes left in the third quarter, was a low, rolling punt that was downed on the 1-yard line. The second was a 50-yarder that sailed over Javier Arenas’ head and was downed on the Alabama 23.

Worst decision by a veteran quarterback: John Parker Wilson knew he couldn’t take a sack because Alabama was out of timeouts, but the result of his fling with four seconds left in the first half was disastrous.

Worst enforcement of an SEC rule: Isn’t there a rule banning “artificial noisemakers” at games? State has long been known for its cowbells, but it didn’t sound like any were confiscated at the gate. Take three headache powders and call it a day.