Beware, College Football, Alabama Has Found Championship Killer Instinct

Blake Sims is just stacking signature moments at this point.

On Saturday, Alabama once again used the run game to salt away a home win over an SEC opponent—only this time the ball wasn't in a big, bruising running back's hands. No, it was Sims' mobility and killer instinct that allowed the Crimson Tide to salt the game away in the fourth quarter.

Butch Dill/Associated Press

Sims hit T.J. Yeldon on a third down that kept the drive alive. Then he had third-down scrambles of 10 and 11 yards. They were the kind of plays a championship quarterback makes in a tight game against the No. 1 team.

The gravity of his quarterback's performance was not lost on Nick Saban.

In his postgame press conference, the Alabama coach—not one for bold statements or hyperbole—gushed about the poise of Sims and the importance of the drive:

Sims doesn't deserve all the credit for Alabama's 25-20 win over Mississippi State. The defense set the tone early, and the Crimson Tide running backs certainly played a huge part in demoralizing Mississippi State late in the game.

However, it will be Sims' clutch plays in the fourth quarter that Alabama fans will remember.

Those were the kinds of moments Alabama regularly produced when it was winning three championships in four years. Watching it happen again should have the rest of college football shaking in its boots.

Brynn Anderson/Associated Press

Call it an LSU hangover. Call it underrating No. 1 Mississippi State. Call it whatever you want.

Alabama didn't look its best for stretches of its 25-20 win over the Bulldogs, but the Tide did what champions do and bowed up when it needed to. It got stops when it needed to. And it scored when it needed to, executing a classic break-your-back drive that was season-defining.

"

VINE - Dak Prescott pass intercepted by Cyrus Jones #MSSTvsALA https://t.co/lWitY7OmQO

— FanSided GIF (@FanSidedGIF) November 15, 2014"

And so Alabama took another step toward the College Football Playoff. It added a signature win to its resume, and now the Iron Bowl is all that stands in its way to an SEC Championship Game return and playoff berth.

Brynn Anderson/Associated Press

It’s the killer instinct the Tide that displayed tonight that could be the difference between a championship and another late-season disappointment.

Marc Torrence is the Alabama lead writer for Bleacher Report. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All stats come from cfbstats.

Follow on Twitter @marctorrence.