Keelon Russell, Kamario Taylor's Box Score Stats, Highlights, Heisman Hype from Alabama vs. MSU

The battle of early-season Heisman contenders went decidedly in Keelon Russell's favor as Alabama, which entered favored by 5.5 points on FanDuel Sportsbook, ran all over Kamario Taylor and Mississippi State in a 56-23 win at Davis Wade Stadium on Saturday.

Russell accounted for four touchdowns with no turnovers before being pulled midway through the fourth quarter with the game in hand.

Taylor did rebound somewhat after a disastrous start that included a lost fumble and interception on his first two offensive possessions, but he left the game late with an injury.

Player	Comp-Att	Pass Yds	TD	INT	Rush Yds/TD
Keelon Russell	16-22	285	3	0	16/1
Kamario Taylor	19-34	258	3	2	-26/0

The Crimson Tide scored 14 points in every quarter. They got touchdowns on their first two offensive possessions plus a pick-six in between to take a commanding 21-7 lead seven seconds into the second quarter.

Russell had no shortage of highlight moments in the game, but the best sequence came on the second touchdown drive. He had a 39-yard pass to Lotzeir Brooks on third-and-19 that set up his 17-yard touchdown run three plays later.

After a slow start to the season with one touchdown pass and two interceptions through the first two games, Russell has caught fire over the last three weeks to put Alabama on the short list of best teams in the nation.

This game could not have started worse for Taylor and Mississippi State. He was strip-sacked on the fifth play of the game, then followed up with a pick-six on the third play of the Bulldogs' next drive.

Taylor was seen walking toward the locker room midway through the fourth quarter with an apparent injury.

Taylor did help get Mississippi State back within one score at 21-14 midway through the second quarter. Alabama would score touchdowns on three consecutive possessions at the end of the first half and start of the second half to put the game away.

After entering the day with 14 touchdowns and two interceptions, Taylor matched his interception total through the first four weeks in this game alone. He also had his lowest completion percentage (55.9) and fewest yards per attempt (7.6) all season.

Taylor will have an opportunity to recover with the Bulldogs off next week before returning to play on Oct. 17 at LSU.

Alabama is back in action next week in one of the marquee games of the season against No. 2 Georgia at Bryant-Denny Stadium.