3 things you should know from Mississippi's rout of Alabama

HATTIESBURG — It was no secret Alabama was the favorite to beat Mississippi in the 31st annual MS/AL All-Star Game. The talk on the sideline leading up to kickoff was hopeful that the guys from Mississippi would just be able to hang in the game with Alabama. 

They did more than that. Mississippi beat Alabama for the second time in three years on Saturday afternoon at M.M. Roberts Stadium, 42-7. 

It was just the second time in the series history that the game was played in Mississippi. Mississippi has won both times playing at home.

Here are three things you should know from the game.

Mississippi's defense

If you lined up Mississippi's defensive line and Alabama's offensive line you'd immediately notice the height and size gap. Saturday afternoon, that made no difference. Mississippi's defensive front burned them with speed. Olive Branch's Fabien Lovett started things off, putting an Alabama running back on his back for a loss of three. Mississippi's defensive line was in Alabama's backfield the rest of the game. 

"We didn't let them live up to the hype," said Lovett, a Mississippi State commit. "We were faster than they were, we played faster. They thought it was going to be a cake walk and it wasn't. We're smaller than them but we beat them off of the ball." 

On top of that, the rest of the Mississippi defense made plays all game long. In total, they forced three fumbles and came up with two interceptions, one from Pearl's Tylan Knight and the second by Newton's Zackariah Johnson. Mississippi scored 21 points off of turnovers. Olive Branch's Jaylon Reed locked down Alabama's biggest scoring threat, Justyn Ross. The No. 1 prospect in the state of Alabama and a four-star receiver, Ross had just one reception for 19 yards.

In the second half, Mississippi held Alabama scoreless. It never even made it to the red zone. 

"They gave up," Lovett said. "They sat there and took the whooping." 

Tylan Knight's big week 

Knight has received buzz as one of the most underrated players in the state of Mississippi all season long. In his final year as a Pirate, he rushed for 290 yards and seven touchdowns, tallied 154 receiving yards for four touchdowns and added 117 tackles, 18 for loss. He also had five sacks and two interceptions. In Saturday's game, Knight showed again just how underrated he is. 

He finished the game with five tackles (three solo stops), three tackles for loss and an interception. He made the play of the game when he picked off a pass from Alabama's Jack West in the beginning of the third quarter. It took three Alabama defenders to bring Knight down inside the 30-yard line. Mississippi finished the ensuing drive in the end zone. 

Knight said at the beginning of the week his focus was to play one more week of football, and if he got some extra recruiting attention it'd be a bonus. After this week of practice and his performance Saturday, it would be shocking if Knight hasn't earned more notice from college recruiters. Right now, Knight has offers from Jackson State, Alabama State, Northern Colorado and Central Arkansas. 

Knight won't be signing early next week. He'll wait until February to make his decision that he hopes will include a couple more offers. 

Co-MVPs

For just the second time in Mississippi's history playing this all-star game, co-MVP's were named. Yazoo County's Kenny Gainwell and Knight shared the honor together. 

When the first half ended, it looked like the game would be a defensive battle. The score was just 7-7 and neither team was making any explosive plays. Gainwell and Knight changed that for Mississippi in the second half. 

Mississippi's defense forced Alabama to go three-and-out on its first drive of the third quarter. The Mississippi squad followed up the stop with a rushing touchdown from South Panola's Patrick Shegog. 

On the next drive of the game, Knight picked off James Foster's pass and returned it three yards to the 26-yard line. He set up the drive that West Point's Marcus Murphy finished in the end zone. 

Gainwell added two more touchdowns in the second half. He had a 12-yard rushing touchdown in the third quarter and a three-yard touchdown on the ground to start the fourth. The Memphis commit finished the game with 56 rushing yards and three touchdowns. 

"Our coaches gave us a speech at halftime," Gainwell said. "They told us to come out, work hard and put on for our state. That's what we did in the second half."