AUBURN | In last season’s 24-10 victory over Mississippi State, Auburn’s defense had a field day getting to Bulldogs’ quarterback Will Rogers. Led by Derick Hall, the Tigers put up a season-high with six sacks while posting eight tackles for a loss. As Smoke Monday said on Tuesday, Auburn’s pass rush was elite that day.

Can this defense do it again? It sounds like Hall and his teammates are ready to do just that.

“​​It’s something you look forward to,” he said.

Hall is anxious for a Bulldogs’ offense led by Mike Leach that does what a Mike Leach offense does: throw the ball, throw it some more, and then throw it again. It’s no secret what Mississippi State will try to do as it ranks fourth in the FBS by averaging 376.2 yards through the air per game. Not only that, but Rogers has thrown the ball 53.7 times a game, a whopping number compared to almost every other team in the nation.

And, with that amount of imbalance on offense, it makes it easier for players along the defensive line to know what is coming.

“You don’t have to worry about a lot of play-action and stuff like that,” Hall said. “If it’s play-action, you know they’re probably going to drop back and throw the ball. That’s definitely a huge game for us.”

Auburn better be able to get pressure on Rogers because, if not, he’s bound to find a receiver. The sophomore who took over as the starter last year is completing 75.2 percent of his passes. That’s excellent for any quarterback, but it is an eye-opening stat for someone who throws the ball that amount of times. Last season, the Tigers held him to 30-of-51 (58.8 percent) for 221 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions.

That was a fairly green Rogers still learning the system. Now comfortable, he’s in the middle of a breakout year in Leach’s offense. Hall and company are excited about pinning their ears back and going full speed after State’s quarterback.

“You have opportunities throughout the season when you know the other team is really going to throw the ball a lot, but when that’s what they live and die by, you can be more loose and more relentless in your pass rush,” he said.