Mississippi State players were fired up. They had fought hard for three quarters and only trailed Auburn at 9-3 in the fourth quarter, with the Tigers pinned down at their own goal line.

Yet like much of the Bulldogs season, it was just a moment in time where they will look back and think of what could have been.

The defense — one that has been hit like most of the roster with opt outs, transfers and COVID-19 cases — finally blinked on a 3rd down and 7 and let Bo Nix find Seth Williams for a 25-yard gain. Auburn running back Tank Bigsby went for 27 yards on the next play. That set up Nix to find Williams again, this time for a 32-yard touchdown to put Mississippi State down 16-3.

Bulldogs quarterback Will Rogers responded with a touchdown drive the very next possession, but it was too little too late. Mike Leach’s offense had been solved again, this time by Kevin Steele and the Auburn defense. MSU missed the opportunities to put pressure on an Auburn offense that was far from spectacular.

It was just a microcosm of what this season has been for the Bulldogs in Leach’s first year as coach. It has been frustrating to say the least, especially after seeing what this team was capable of accomplishing in the season-opening win against LSU. The fact is this: Rogers and the Bulldogs offense aren’t this bad. Nor is the coaching staff. It is almost like an arranged marriage where the two parties are still figuring each other out, finding out each other’s strengths and weaknesses, then trying to build on that.

Rogers, who completed 30-of-51 passes for 221 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions against Auburn, might or might not be the answer for Leach at quarterback. The coach isn’t one to let his thoughts. We don’t know whether Rogers will be the starter for the Bulldogs next year, probably until the first snap of the 2021 season. There are two contenders who will throw their names into the hat with incoming recruits Sawyer Robertson and Jack Kristofek, a transfer from Sam Houston State.

Add a solid offense to what we have seen from the Bulldogs on defense this season? Great things can happen.

Overall, as it was for everyone, 2020 has been strange and difficult for the Bulldogs. While a 2-7 record going into a matchup against Missouri next Saturday might not be what the cowbell-ringing fans in Starkville expected going into this season, they can be sure of this: It will get better in Year 2 under Leach. He has proven that time and time again.