On his weekly radio show, Auburn coach Gus Malzahn was asked about handling Mississippi State quarterback Nick Fitzgerald as Auburn gets set for a road game in Starkville.

Both teams have had a rough start to the season considering the expectations going in. Mississippi State is 0-2 in conference play, with losses to Kentucky and Florida. Auburn is 1-1, having lost to LSU at home by a last-second field goal.

The theme for both the Bulldogs and Tigers has been rough starts offensively. Now, Auburn travels to a Mississippi State team with a star quarterback in Nick Fitzgerald who has struggled to find his way in Joe Moorhead’s offense.

“We need to continue to stop him Saturday” said Malzahn, “He’s like a running back, and any time your quarterback is a runner it puts stress on a defense.”

Malzahn also compared Fitzgerald to Auburn great Cam Newton, who’s lone year on The Plains was under Malzahn as the offensive coordinator.

“They’re both big guys and the type that fall forward” said Malzahn, “I think it’s hard to compare anybody to Cam Newton.”

It certainly is hard for any quarterback to be compared to the Heisman-winner, especially a quarterback who has thrown for a 49.1 completion percentage this season. When Joe Moorhead was hired, he was expected to take this offense to a new level based on his success as an offensive coordinator at Penn State. However, the Bulldogs have only scored 7 and 6 points, respectively, in their two SEC games. Meanwhile, Auburn goes to Starkville with one of the best defensive lines in college football.

Auburn and Mississippi State kick off at 7:30pm ET on ESPN2.