Joe Moorhead said it best.

“To come out and spot them 21 before the band even gets in their seats, you don’t give yourself a chance,” the Miss State coach said Saturday night underneath Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Auburn blitzed the Bulldogs in more ways than one in its SEC opener, burying its opening in a monster hole early in the No. 7 Tigers' 56-23 victory.

Immediately, Kevin Steele's defense made Mississippi State pay for starting senior Penn State transfer Tommy Stevens over true freshman Garrett Shrader. Auburn's defense got Stevens and company out of whack from their first drive, holding the Bulldogs to minus-22 yards over their first two series.

That mark also included an early stranglehold on Kylin Hill, who led the SEC in rushing entering Saturday's contest.

"He’s one of the best running backs in the SEC," Auburn defensive tackle Derrick Brown said of Hill, who rushed for just 45 yards on 17 carries. "I don’t think he liked that we were loading the box against him and he was trying to wait until we unloaded the box so he could get out. But that was huge.

"He was getting frustrated throughout the night, and I would be too if I was in his situation. I mean, we knew how talented he was going into the game so I mean, you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do."

The roaring Jordan-Hare crowd played a factor, too, according to Auburn coaches and players. The Bulldogs were called for two delay of games on their first drive, including one on the first play.

“It was as loud as I’ve heard it since last year vs. Texas A&M," said Auburn defensive end Marlon Davidson. "That was pretty fun, man. We appreciate the fans for coming out there and giving us an extra boost. A good fan base gets you out there and you want to make plays for them.”

Following the opening possession, Christian Tutt returned the punt 18 yards to put Auburn on the 30-yard-line for its first drive. Boobee Whitlow immediately raced through a right-side gap for the score — Auburn's first opening-play touchdown since Eli Stove went 75 yards against Arkansas in 2016.

Down 14-0, Moorhead was chatting with Shrader on the sidelines, prepping to send the freshman into the fire. He never got the chance, however, as Auburn defensive back Jordyn Peters recovered a fumble on the kickoff, giving the Tigers yet another short field that would result in a touchdown.

For Peters, the recovery adds to his laundry list of standout special-teams plays in his career. The junior now has a pair of fumble recoveries to go with a trio of blocked punts.

"With us, that's why we say we're different from a lot of the other teams," Peters said. "A lot of other teams, they take special teams as a play off. We take it as an extra play to make a big play. A lot of teams don't do that. We just pride ourselves in having that extra factor in the game."

So, outside of a Seth Williams fumble that cut a drive off, could Malzahn have envisioned a better start?

"No, I don’t think so," he said. " I would have scripted it exactly like that."

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