Auburn's victory over Mississippi State turned into a blowout during the first quarter, but that doesn't mean the game lacked defining plays.

They just occurred much earlier than usual.

Here's a look at four plays that swung momentum into the Tigers' favor at various stages Saturday night ...

This was Auburn's first play on offense. And it's not an exotic call — it's a GT Counter into the boundary, which is Malzahn Playcalling 101 this season. MSU's play-side DE willingly shuffled himself out of the play and the first puller, LG Marquel Harrell, pins him inside.

The second puller, also known as the "wrapper," pulverizes a scraping linebacker and creates a pile that also seals the play-side CB out of the play as well.

In fact, RB Boobee Whitlow isn't touched until he crosses the goal line. This represents a perfect start for the Tigers' offense.

This is a little more unusual. It's a QB Counter Read with H-back Spencer Nigh as the featured puller. Firstly, QB Bo Nix deserves credit for deftly managing a poor snap and for making a correct read and for doing what it took to get into the end zone.

Still, the star player here (once again) is H-back Spencer Nigh. His initial block isn't great — it's a glancing blow — but that contact was enough to clear space for Nix. Nigh diagnosed that very quickly and continued onward to pick up a scraping linebacker. That second block was more of an obstruction than anything, but it was effective. And it's remarkable effort.

Nix's touchdown above moved Auburn ahead by 14 points. This kickoff return plunged the Bulldogs into an even deeper hole because it ended with Auburn defensive back Jordyn Peters celebrating with the ball in his hands.

Linebacker Zakoby McClain knocked the ball free with a left-handed punch. Then the Tigers' worked quickly to claim possession.

This turnover gave Auburn possession at the MSU 18. The Tigers scored two plays later to move ahead by three touchdowns.

The Bulldogs were exceedingly unlikely to come back from a 42-9 halftime deficit, sure, but Auburn crushed the visitors' spirits with a touchdown drive to open the second half. The coup de gras was this gem — a perfect, back-shoulder throw from Bo Nix and an equally crafty catch from Seth Williams in traffic.

Adding to the play's complexity is that Williams' defender is MSU's ace defensive back, Cameron Dantzler.

The play works well against MSU's Cover-2 shell. Will Hastings' post route draws the play-side safety toward the middle of the field and gives Williams single coverage at the pylon. He doesn't lose many of those encounters.

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