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A rock fight broke out in Starkville, and Auburn’s offense proved slightly more competent.
It wasn’t until a 10-play, 95-yard drive in the 4th quarter that Auburn had any offensive success in its 24-10 win over Mississippi State. The win improved Auburn’s record to 6-4.
The touchdown drive was punctuated with a 32-yard Seth Williams touchdown catch from Bo Nix that gave Auburn a 16-3 lead. Before that drive, Williams was having a night to forget from costly holding penalties to blatant drops on 4th down. He had just 1 catch on 9 targets before a 25-yard reception on 3rd down moved Auburn from the shadows of its own goal line. Seven plays later he was in the end zone.
On the drive Tank Bigsby had 1 of his 2 carries that he broke for longer than 25 yards, as he was the only consistent weapon for the Tigers. Bigsby finished with over 100 yards rushing for the 4th time this season, becoming just the third Auburn freshman running back to do so (Bo Jackson and Michael Dyer).
A 13-point lead seemed insurmountable the way the Bulldogs’ offense had been operating, but a 65-yard kickoff return by Lideatrick Griffin set Mississippi State up with great field position, and Austin Williams found the end zone just a few plays later for the Bulldogs’ first touchdown to make it 16-10.
Following a lengthy delay due to a scary injury to Marquiss Spencer who left on a stretcher, Nix scampered in on a 3-yard run to put Auburn’s lead back to multiple possessions and end the Bulldogs’ real hopes of a comeback.
The first 3+ quarters were an offensive coordinator’s nightmare. At one point Nix missed 8-of-9 passes and Auburn had 59 interception return yards to Nix’s 55 passing yards.
Nix finished with 125 yards and a TD.
Rogers was intercepted twice, ending an FBS-leading streak of 177 passes without a pick when Roger McCreary intercepted the freshman in the 1st quarter. Smoke Monday made the other interception for the Tigers. Auburn’s defense did a great job getting pressure on Rogers while only rushing 3 and 4 players. Rogers was sacked 4 times.
SEC Network’s Tom Hart said during the game, “[This] game fell down the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down.”
The teams committed 125 yards worth of penalties in the first half.
The win, while ugly, keeps Auburn in 3rd place of the SEC West and cemented the Bulldogs status in last.
