AUBURN | The record may not show it, but Mississippi State is playing its best football going into Saturday’s game against Auburn.
The Bulldogs, 2-6, lost by just seven points in back-to-back road games at Georgia and Ole Miss and have had two weeks to prepare for the Tigers.
“They played Georgia and Ole Miss on the road very close, had chances to win,” Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said. “You look at their defense. They're very good against the run. They're very disruptive with the different things they do offensively. Real impressed with the quarterback since he's taken over the starting job. He's protected the ball very well considering how many times he's thrown the ball.”
A stout MSU defense allows just 116.8 rushing yards per game, which ranks fourth in the SEC. UGA, which rushed for 202 yards against Auburn earlier this season, was held to just eight yards on 23 carries against State.
Ole Miss had more success on the ground with 163 yards, but it was still off its SEC-leading 206.5 rushing yards per game.
“They do a lot of different things. They do a lot of twists, a lot of blitzing, line up in different fronts, bring different blitzes, roll into different coverages,” quarterback Bo Nix said. “They're very multiple, which helps them a lot stopping the run. They're around and they're doing different things. They have guys everywhere at times, it feels like.
“So it's just making sure we're aware, doing what we're supposed to do, taking our steps, blocking who we're supposed to block, throw who we're supposed to throw to, and just execute offensively in both the passing and the running game.
Since taking over the starting quarterback role in the last three games, true freshman Will Rogers has become the first MSU player to complete 30 or more passes in three consecutive games.
Against the Rebels, he completed a school-record 45 passes and threw for a freshman-record 440 yards. MSU has averaged 24.0 points per game in his three starts after averaging 5.3 points in the previous three.
Rogers directs an Air Raid offense under first-year coach Mike Leach, which should offer a different kind of challenge to AU’s defense. Malzahn is hopeful that AU’s earlier preparation for MSU, the game was postponed from Nov. 14, will benefit his defensive players.
“It’s very unique and kind of a different approach, throw to open up the run,” Malzahn said. “I’m hoping that off week we had when the game got canceled, I’m hoping that preparation really helps us too, just getting a good footing on everything with our plan. They present challenges, there’s no doubt. They’ve been protecting the football and I think that’s been a big factor.”
Kickoff at Davis Wade Stadium is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network.
