1996 #8 Alabama at Mississippi State (Highlights)

The 8-1, #8 Alabama Crimson Tide traveled to Scott Field in Starkville, MS to face the 4-5 Mississippi State Bulldogs.

[@BamaRewind]

This loss looms large in Alabama football history because a locker room incident after the game may have been the last straw in convincing Gene Stallings to retire. Throughout 1996, Stallings had been at odds with new Alabama athletic director Bob Bockrath and new university president Andrew Sorensen. Allegedly, Bockrath entered the Alabama locker room after this loss to question Stallings and the two got into an intense argument. Stallings decided to resign very quickly after this and announced it one week later. In a retrospective interview in 2018, Stallings openly said that his poor relationship with Bockrath was the reason that he retired -- “We were not on the same page, and that’s why I retired. I wasn’t necessarily ready to quit coaching. I just wasn’t going to coach under those conditions."

[@richardpierce4908]

One thing about Stallings is he almost never lost games like this when his team was a heavy favorite. He'd always say "You think a game isn't important? Try losing one." This is about the only loss of his tenure (1993 LSU was a shocker too) where I was totally shocked by the defeat.

[@sen.justinready9284]

Bockrath was terrible and Sorensen wasn't much better. Still - Stallings management also left something to be desired after 1992, especially after 1994. But running him off sentenced the Tide to a long decade and a half of mostly darkness.

[@statutoryape3912]

As a Bama boy I gotta give respect to State's offensive blocking in this game

[@zippyzipster46]

Freddie Kitchens. My goodness. Free space for State.