Hosting LSU wasn't much of a contest for Auburn as they cruised to a 41-7 victory. It was the best all-around effort all year long for Auburn on both sides of the ball. The offense put up 298 rushing yards and three scores while Nick Marshall and the passing game accounted for 268 yards and a couple TDs of their own. Wide receiver Sammie Coates had his breakthrough performance after a quiet first four games, catching four passes for 144 yards and a very nice TD catch. The competition figures to get a lot tougher this week though as a trip to Starkville to take on the now #3 ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs is on tap. This will be the second of four teams nicknamed the Bulldogs that Auburn will be playing this season. They already took on and beat Louisiana Tech. Later Auburn plays Georgia and FCS member Samford; two more Bulldogs. Last season's Auburn/Mississippi State was a back and forth affair which Auburn won 24-20 on the strength of a final minute drive; with the last play being an 11 yard touchdown strike to C.J. Uzomah up the right sideline. That win ended what was at the time a 10 game losing streak within the SEC for Auburn, who has since won 9 of their last 10 SEC games.
To make it 10 for their last 11 wins in SEC play, Auburn will have to figure out a way to contain Mississippi State QB Dak Prescott. They did a solid enough job in pass defense, but Dak's size and mobility were able to truck for 133 yards and two TDs in last year's game. Tackling him is sort of like trying to tackle a vending machine with legs. He appears to be improved as a passer this season. Compared to last year where he threw for just 10 TDs and 7 interceptions, Dak has thrown for 13 TD passes to just two interceptions. His running is still there, rushing for 455 yards and six touchdowns in MSU's first five games of the year. Other than Prescott, Mississippi State also boasts another dangerous rushing threat the Auburn defense will need to account for in running back Josh Robinson. He had himself a game this past week in the Bulldogs 48-31 win over Texas A&M, rushing for 107 yards and two TDs on just 17 carries. Mississippi State has spread the ball out a lot when they throw it, as they have four guys that have 247 (DeRunnya Wilson), 223 (Jameon Lewis), 173 (Fred Brown) and 111 receiving yards (RB Josh Robinson) respectively. If you want to go by touchdowns, the best of the bunch so far has been Wilson; he has caught 5 TD passes from Dak Prescott. With his 6'5", 215 pound frame, it's not hard to see why that's the case. Last year, Lewis was the best of the bunch with 64 catches which led to 923 receiving yards and five touchdowns.
In addition to an offense that will be tough to stop, Mississippi State also brings in a solid defense. The leader of this defense is definitely number 50, Benardrick McKinney. If you're also a fan of the NFL, remember that name because he will absolutely be playing on Sundays once he leaves college. This redshirt junior linebacker can play any position in the linebacking core. Before the season, he was named to the Bednarik Award, Nagurski Trophy, Butkus Award and Lombardi Award watch lists. Through five games, McKinney has been a terror, recording 3 sacks and six tackles for loss. Another guy who has been playing well up front for the Bulldogs is Preston Smith. Number 91 has 2.5 sacks and 5.5 tackles for loss so far after recording 12 TFL and 7 sacks as a junior. Smith isn't nearly as highly regarded as McKinney, who is being thought of as a possible first round selection, but Smith should be able to get his name on the NFL radar before this season is over. If there's one area the Mississippi State defense may be a bit vulnerable, it would be in the secondary. They are near the bottom of the FBS in terms of overall pass defense. That means Nick Marshall will have to air it out to D'haquille Williams, Sammie Coates and Co.
Like Auburn, Mississippi State is also 5-0 coming into this game. As a result of this, the Bulldogs have moved all the way up to a tie for third in the AP Poll with Egg Bowl and in-state SEC rival Ole Miss (something I'm sure neither team/school likes) and sixth in the coaches poll. In addition to that most recent 48-31 win over Texas A&M, Mississippi State cruised to easy wins over Southern Miss and South Alabama, got a battle for a while from UAB before pulling away about midway through the third quarter in a 47-34 win and also won 34-29 over LSU in Baton Rouge in a game they dominated until the last 10 minutes where LSU made a big run to make it close.
As I previously stated, obviously the Auburn passing game will need to be in fine form since the Mississippi State run defense is very good. They showed that a year ago in limiting what was an amazing Auburn ground attack to just 120 yards on 36 carries and no touchdowns. Say what you will about how the Auburn offense hadn't yet taken off, but that's a mighty impressive stat when you saw how Auburn pretty much romped through the rest of their schedule until the national championship game save for one night in Baton Rouge against LSU. One thing that Auburn can take from the 24-20 win a year ago was winning the game despite losing the turnover battle 3 to 0. Nick Marshall lost two fumbles and threw an interception (granted the latter happened at the end of the first half where nothing bad came of it). Both these teams defend the run well; so I do think both run offenses will be contained to an extent. Don't get me wrong, Dak Prescott will get his and I expect Auburn's run game to be better than it was a year ago. To me, it's gonna come down to limiting turnovers and which passing game can be superior. I'd give Auburn the favor in the latter department, and I think Marshall will do a better job of hanging onto the ball this time than he did last year. That will be just enough for Auburn to escape Starkville with a hard fought, 60 minute win.
My Call: Auburn 30, Mississippi State 27
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