STARKVILLE, Miss. — Tua Tagovailoa injured his hip while being dragged down by tacklers late in the first half on what was likely his last series and Alabama went on to beat Mississippi State 38-7 Saturday in a game that might have cost the Crimson Tide its star quarterback.

Tagovailoa was injured after a scramble when he was taken down hard by Bulldogs linebacker Leo Lewis. Tagovailoa needed help getting to his feet and was carted off the field with 3:01 left in the second quarter.

The junior had been nursing an ankle injury that needed surgery four weeks ago, but Alabama coach Nick Saban said it was unrelated. Saban called it “freak injury.”

Alabama officials confirmed Tagovailoa was flown by helicopter to the St. Vincent’s Medical Center in Birmingham, Alabama. The junior was 14 of 18 for 256 yards and two touchdown passes, giving him 31 on the season. He was replaced in the second half by Mac Jones.

The Crimson Tide (9-1, 6-1 Southeastern Conference) jumped out to a 14-0 lead on a touchdown run and a touchdown catch by Najee Harris, who finished with four TDs.

Mississippi State (4-6, 2-5) cut the lead to 14-7 on a 1-yard scoring run by Kylin Hill. The Bulldogs must now win out to be bowl eligible.

Harris finished with 88 yards rushing and 51 yards receiving. Jerry Jeudy had seven catches for 114 yards to pace the Alabama passing attack.

Tommy Stevens was 12 of 21 passing for Mississippi State and had just 82 yards passing. Stevens did rush for 96 yards on 10 carries.

TAKEAWAY

Alabama: Tide defensive tackle Raekwon Davis was also taken off the field with an apparent leg injury.

Mississippi State: The Bulldogs’ struggles on offensive continued against Alabama. Mississippi State had just 270 yards of offense and had only 82 yards passing against the Crimson Tide. In the past two meetings with Alabama, the Bulldogs have mustered seven points.

UP NEXT

Alabama: The Crimson Tide close out its home schedule next Saturday against Western Carolina.

Mississippi State: The Bulldogs continue their season-ending homestand and host Alilene Christian for homecoming.

No. 4 Alabama 38, Mississippi St. 7

Alabama 21 14 3 0—38

Mississippi St. 7 0 0 0— 7

First Quarter

BAMA_N.Harris 10 run (Bulovas kick), 13:08

BAMA_N.Harris 19 pass from Tu.Tagovailoa (Bulovas kick), 12:54

MSST_Hill 1 run (Christmann kick), 9:03

BAMA_N.Harris 5 run (Bulovas kick), 3:22

Second Quarter

BAMA_Waddle 35 pass from Tu.Tagovailoa (Bulovas kick), 14:15

BAMA_N.Harris 5 run (Bulovas kick), 3:22

Third Quarter

BAMA_FG Bulovas 22, 7:28

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BAMA MSST

First downs 24 11

Rushes-yards 31-160 37-188

Passing 350 82

Comp-Att-Int 21-29-0 12-21-1

Return Yards 28 1

Punts-Avg. 2-39.5 5-33.8

Fumbles-Lost 1-0 0-0

Penalties-Yards 7-86 5-37

Time of Possession 27:57 32:03

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INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING_Alabama, N.Harris 17-88, B.Robinson 8-56, Shavers 1-14, K.Robinson 3-10, Tu.Tagovailoa 2-(minus 8). Mississippi St., Stevens 10-96, Gibson 9-56, Hill 16-35, Zuber 1-2, Shrader 1-(minus 1).

PASSING_Alabama, Tu.Tagovailoa 14-18-0-256, M.Jones 7-11-0-94. Mississippi St., Stevens 12-21-1-82.

RECEIVING_Alabama, Jeudy 7-114, D.Smith 6-92, N.Harris 3-51, Ruggs 3-39, Waddle 1-35, J.Billingsley 1-19. Mississippi St., Hill 3-21, S.Guidry 3-18, Thomas 2-6, Gibson 2-4, Green 1-30, Witherspoon 1-3.

MISSED FIELD GOALS_None.