TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Alabama’s offense looked like the high-powered unit we’ve seen through the first 10 weeks of the season to start its Saturday game against No. 16 Mississippi State.

The Crimson Tide scored on its first two possessions against a team that had not surrendered a first-drive touchdown and had only allowed nine total touchdowns in its previous eight games.

But that trend didn’t continue.

Alabama’s nation-leading scoring offense scored only two more times in its next 11 possessions against the Bulldogs, and one of those scoring series was a 49-yard Joseph Bulovas field goal.

“We have a lot of respect for this team,” Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban said. “They are a great defensive team. We started a little bit slow out there today on offense. We had some mistakes. It would be a great lesson for us to learn from the adversity and how we are going to respond to it, what we need to do is get things fixed and be more consistent.”

After gaining 156 yards during its first two drives, Alabama only produced 149 more. Mississippi State held the Tide to 305 yards of total offense, which was its lowest yardage total of the year and first time that Alabama has not accumulated 500-plus yards of offense this season.

So, what changed? Junior running back Josh Jacobs said the Bulldogs started recognizing plays.

“They were calling out our stretch plays, the defense was, so they were slanting to the side we were running the ball to,” Jacobs said. “So, once we made adjustments to that, we were fine.”

Alabama tight end Irv Smith Jr.

Junior tight end Irv Smith Jr. said State was probably the most physical team Alabama has played this year, and both he and Jacobs praised the Bulldogs’ defensive front. The opposition turned up the heat on Tide quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, too, registering four sacks. The fourth sack put Tagovailoa (quad) out of the game, although Saban said he could have returned.

Entering Saturday’s game, Alabama’s offensive line had only given up six sacks in nine games.

“They started pressuring a lot more,” Saban said. “We didn’t handle the pressure very well in the run game. We got behind in the sticks a lot in the game to allow the defense to predict, kind of control what’s going to happen. They pressured, and we didn’t handle it.

“Two things happen when you pressure -- either you handle it and make big plays because there’s fewer guys in the backend, or the quarterback gets pressured and you’re not able to make those plays. I thought they covered pretty well, we didn’t separate real well and they got way too much pressure in the pocket and I think we got behind in the down and distance and we were unable to run the ball very effectively after those first two drives.”

Starting left guard Deonte Brown also left the game late in the first quarter with a turf toe injury and was replaced by senior Lester Cotton. But Saban and company “don’t feel like it should have had an impact, but we were very pleased with the way Deonte has been playing.”

Alabama was still able to put 24 points on the board for its 10th win of the season and 12th in a row. But for an offense that was averaging 51.3 points and 565.6 yards per contest, Saturday’s performance on the offensive side of the ball is not something UA wants to do again.

“I feel like we came out and started fast, scored on the first couple possessions,” Smith said. “We’re a little upset with ourselves about how we executed in the second half, but we’re going to work on that and get better throughout the rest of the season.”

Contact Charlie Potter by 247Sports' personal messaging or on Twitter (@Charlie_Potter).

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