Alabama football is set to face Mississippi State Saturday in Starkville for its first SEC road game of the year. The Crimson Tide enters the game after beating Ole Miss in Tuscaloosa last week, while the Bulldogs fell to South Carolina on the road.

Before the game kicks off at 8 p.m. on ESPN, here are three questions for Alabama to answer.

Can the defense avoid explosive plays?

This isn’t the same Mississippi State offense as last year. The late Mike Leach had the Bulldogs passing nearly every down in his air raid scheme, but MSU is far more balanced now.

Still, Mississippi State quarterback Will Rogers can get the ball downfield. That was an achilles heel for the Crimson Tide defense against Texas.

Quinn Ewers kept throwing deep, creating explosive plays that proved fatal for Alabama in the Longhorns’ win at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Week 2. Rogers and his receivers, particularly Tulu Griffin, are capable of the same sort of play.

Alabama’s defense hasn’t given a performance like it did against Texas since that game. The Tide held South Florida to three points and Ole Miss to 10.

Still, the secondary will have to be solid against the Bulldogs. Alabama had a few coverage lapses early on against Ole Miss, and those could turn into touchdowns fast if the Tide aren’t careful during Saturday’s game.

Will the offensive line show continued improvement?

In the first half of the Ole Miss game, Alabama’s offensive line looked much the same as it did against Texas and South Florida. That is to say, bad.

The group has struggled throughout the season, with UA’s quarterbacks spending much of their time running for the lives. It’s one of the root causes of the offensive struggles that plagued the Tide against both Texas and USF.

But then, after halftime of the Ole Miss game, things got better. Suddenly, Jalen Milroe had time to throw the ball.

Alabama’s offense immediately looked better, storming back to win the game. At this point, offense isn’t the Crimson Tide’s biggest strength, but appears capable of doing enough to win games given how good the defense has been.

But that’s only if the line continues to improve.

How good will Jalen Milroe be?

Milroe seemed to settle in at quarterback throughout the Ole Miss game. He threw an early interception which was bad, but he did the same thing against Texas.

The difference, according to Nick Saban, was Milroe didn’t let the pick rattle him against the Rebels. He came back out and made the plays needed to win the game.

That’s a huge improvement over the version of Milroe from Week 2. Against the Longhorns, Milroe seemed to never recover from his first interception, struggling throughout the loss.

Milroe has plenty of tools for Alabama to have success with. He’s a threat running the ball at all times, and can go over the top of most secondaries with accurate deep passes.

If he can avoid mistakes against the Bulldogs, it could be a huge day offensively for the Crimson Tide. If he’s shaky, it could open the door for the underdog MSU squad.

More: ‘They don’t have a weakness’: Mississippi State’s Zach Arnett talks Alabama football’s defense