Mississippi State’s latest chance to halt the skid turned into another rough Saturday in Starkville.
The Bulldogs coughed up four fumbles that directly led to 24 Auburn points, and State fell 41-9 at Davis Wade Stadium for its sixth straight loss.
Auburn wasted no time taking control. On the Tigers’ first possession, Auburn drove 67 yards in 13 plays and finished with a 1-yard touchdown run from Brian Brown.
Later in the opening quarter, Billy Puckett came up with Auburn’s third strip sack of the day on an injured Swann, giving the Tigers another short field. Auburn turned that into a 24-yard touchdown pass from Byrum Brown to Chas Nimrod.
Mississippi State did manage to answer once. On its next drive, the Bulldogs moved deep into Auburn territory, but Kyle Ferrie missed a field goal. Auburn responded with a 13-play, 61-yard march that ended with a field goal and pushed the lead to 10-0.
The game kept tilting further away from State in the second quarter. With less than two minutes left before halftime, the Tigers were in position for another score, but Auburn settled for a field goal and went into the break up 15-0.
State finally found some life after halftime. The Bulldogs opened the third quarter with a 52-yard pass from Brown to Chas Nimrod, then added insurance with a 22-yard grab at the 5:21 mark to make it 21-0.
Auburn’s first fumble of the day came on its next drive, but Kyle Ferrier missed a field goal. State then got on the board when Sanfrisco Magee scored on a 33-yard run on the first play of the second quarter.
But Auburn kept landing the bigger blows. The Tigers recovered another Mississippi State fumble and turned that into points, then added a 26-yard touchdown catch from Brown to Chas Nimrod. Auburn’s defense also forced a safety late in the third quarter, and the Tigers kept stretching the margin from there.
Mississippi State’s offense never found enough consistency to recover, and the turnovers made sure the Bulldogs were playing uphill all afternoon. Auburn finished with 1,188 yards in the game, while State’s mistakes kept feeding the Tigers’ momentum.
In Other News...
Ole Miss Fans Suddenly Face Real Concern About The Oklahoma Trip
Auburns trip to Starkville turned into a long day before the teams even got to the field, with the SEC pushing kickoff from noon ET to 4:15 p.m. ET after FAA travel disruptions forced a ground stop and created a chain reaction around the game. The league has already locked in the new start time for Auburn at Mississippi State, but the television assignment is still unresolved, adding another layer of uncertainty to a matchup that was already thrown off schedule.
For Ole Miss, the bigger concern is what happens next. The Rebels trip to Oklahoma is suddenly in doubt after reports that the team did not fly out Friday night, leaving the scheduled kickoff hanging and, potentially, the game itself in jeopardy. After watching one SEC game get pushed back by hours, Mississippi fans now have a very real reason to keep an eye on the weather, the airport and the league schedule all at once. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss Oklahoma Disruption Creates A New SEC Weekend Twist
A scheduling wrinkle has turned Ole Miss trip to Oklahoma into one of the more unusual SEC weekends on the calendar. The Rebels game, originally set for Friday, was pushed back to November 15 in Norman after travel delays tied to an FAA ground stop on November 13, and the team is now expected to fly out on the afternoon of November 14.
The matchup will kick off at noon, with the television channel still to be announced in Week 11, though the broadcast is slated for a national audience with Taylor Zarzour and Matt Stinchcomb on the call. For Mississippi State fans keeping an eye on the league race, it is another reminder of how quickly a conference slate can get reshaped, even before the teams ever take the field. [Read more 🡒]
Mississippi State's First Loss Exposed A Worry Beyond Josh Hubbard
Mississippi States first loss of the season came with a familiar kind of warning sign, and it was bigger than just the final score. The Bulldogs fell to Xavier 81-63 after opening the year with three straight wins, but the more troubling part was how little offense they could generate from the perimeter. A team that had been shooting 38.7% from three-point range before the game managed only 4 of 29 from deep, a rough night that left the attack looking far more one-dimensional than it had in the seasons first week.
Josh Hubbard still led Mississippi State in scoring and assists, but even he had a below-average shooting night, which only sharpened the concern around the rest of the lineup. If the Bulldogs are going to keep pace once the schedule gets tougher, they will need more consistent help around Hubbard rather than asking him to carry the load every night. The first loss did more than end a winning streak. It exposed how thin the margin can be when the shots stop falling. [Read more 🡒]