TUSCALOOSA — Midway through the 2008 season, Crimson Tide fans had become accustomed to seeing top-ranked Alabama build a huge first-half lead — and then have to hold on for dear life in the second-half.

While much time was spent by coaches, players and fans alike trying to explain Bama’s Jekyl-and-Hyde-like performances, the past few weeks have seen the a change in the trend.

The Tide (11-0, 7-0 SEC) struggled to a 12-7 halftime lead in Saturday night’s game against Mississippi State (3-7, 1-5) but came out strong in the third and squeezed the life and fight out of a tough Bulldogs team. The Tide bullied State in the final 30 minutes, rolling to a 20-0 second-half performance.

“I am really pleased and happy with the way our team played in the second half,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said.

While State scored its lone touchdown of the night on a big play in the second quarter and actually outgained Alabama — 134 yards to 110 — and had more first downs, 6-5, in the first half, a look at the whole game reveals the Tide actually controlled the Bulldogs all night long.

But the Tide’s first-half performance on offense was shaky at best.

“In the first half, we didn’t play especially well,” Saban said. “I thought we had a lot of energy and a lot of intensity, but we didn’t play very smart.”

Saban was quick to credit State’s notoriously stingy defense, which makes a habit of forcing its opponents into nasty, physical games.

“Offensively, their defense is good,” Saban said. “We didn’t sustain drives or move the ball effectively in the first half at all, but we did a much, much better job in the second half and we controlled the game.”

The news from the first half wasn’t all bad. The Mississippi State touchdown came on a play where Jayamel Smith appeared to push off a Tide defender just before hauling in a 31-yard touchdown pass from Tyson Lee. And on the other end of the play, the Tide’s Brandon Fanny was pulled to the ground by a handful of jersey by a Bulldog offensive lineman, buying Lee an extra second to launch the pass.

The Bulldogs totaled two first downs in the third quarter, both coming on penalties. In fact, State failed to earn a first down without the aid of a yellow flag for 20 full minutes of football. By the time State finally moved the ball 10 yards in second half, it trailed 25-7 with 10 minutes to play.

Though the Bulldogs fought hard and kept the Tide from establishing much of a running game in the first half (20 carries for 57 yards) the Tide used superior special teams play to create points and used just enough offense to kill the clock when they needed it.

“I think special teams played as much of a role as in any game this season,” Saban said.

The final first down tally tells the story: Alabama 17, Mississippi State 9, or 12-3 in the second half. Even more impressively, the Tide allowed just 35 rushing yards on 22 carries, and yielded only 132 yards passing, 31 of which came on the lone touchdown.