AUBURN | From the outside looking in, Auburn’s matchup against Mississippi State certainly wouldn’t be considered a big game. The two teams have combined for 10 losses.
But don’t tell that to Gus Malzahn. Auburn’s eighth-year head coach is feeling the heat of a seventh consecutive season with four or more losses and wants to start building some momentum to what he believes can be a championship run in 2021.
“I that’s very important,” said Malzahn, who has guided the Tigers to a 5-4 record. “We talked about that with our team Sunday after the game that we weren’t fortunate enough to get these seniors out with a victory. This is a big game for us. We want to do everything in our power to try to get a victory.
“It’s not going to be easy on the road in our league with a team that’s playing good football right now. It will be a challenge, but I think it would be very important if we can get the victory.”
Of course, Malzahn and most, if not all, coaches consider every game important. The key for Malzahn will be making sure his players are motivated about playing a Bulldog team that is 2-6 under first-year coach Mike Leach.
Going by practices earlier this week, sophomore linebacker Owen Pappoe believes the players will hold up their end of the bargain.
“Yeah, definitely. The energy at practice was really good. You didn't have a lot of long faces,” said Pappoe. “Everybody was pumped this week to get the opportunity to play football again and end this season with a win and send our seniors out properly.”
Facing MSU’s Air Raid offense will be a different type of challenge for Pappoe, one he’s looking forward to taking on headfirst.
“Kinda similar to LSU from last year, as to how much they throw the ball,” said Pappoe. “I think they're averaging like 23 yards rushing per game. So it's kinda gonna be like a 7-on-7 game.
“These are the games that linebackers like myself thrive in. We get to run around, make plays and make tackles in space. They've definitely shown improvement the last couple of weeks they've been playing.”
Kickoff at Wade Davis Stadium is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network.
