Updated

Alabama's defense set the tone on the game's opening series when HaHa Clinton-Dix upended Mississippi receiver Laquon Treadwell inches short on fourth down.

"That started the whole thing," Crimson Tide linebacker C.J. Mosley said.

The top-ranked Tide spent the rest of the night shutting down No. 24 Mississippi's running game and making big stops, with a couple of forced turnovers tossed in, during Saturday night's 25-0 victory. It was a dominant performance that looked much like the two previous 'Bama defenses, which were the nation's stingiest and powered BCS-title teams.

The Tide (4-0, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) held a Rebels offense that came in averaging 490 yards and 38 points to 205 yards and 11 first downs.