Sneak peek: MSU
AUBURN | The Bryan Harsin era begins with a couple of warmup games before things get really serious with a trip to a Big Ten power. October includes a couple of key rivalry games and November concludes with the Iron Bowl at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Today, we continue an early look at Auburn’s 2021 schedule with a home contest against an SEC West foe.
WHO: Mississippi State (4-7 last season, 3-7 SEC)
WHEN: Nov. 13
WHERE: Jordan-Hare Stadium (87,451)
SERIES: AU leads 65-27-2
WHAT’S NEW: Second-year head coach Mike Leach returns his entire on-the-field coaching staff from last season. He did hire former Southern Miss head coach Jay Hopson as director of high school relations, Utah’s Ryan Lindley as a defensive analyst and Michigan’s Matt Dudek as director of football recruiting.
WHO TO WATCH, OFFENSE: Wide receiver Jaden Walley had 52 catches for 718 yards and two touchdowns last fall, setting a school freshman record for receiving yards. The 6-foot, 180-pounder was named to the Freshman All-SEC team.
WHO TO WATCH, DEFENSE: Cornerback Martin Emerson was third on the team with 72 tackles last season. The junior added a team-high 11 pass breakups and 1.5 tackles-for-loss. The 6-foot-2, 195-pounder was named PFF second-team All-SEC in 2020.
OUTLOOK: After an incredible 623 total yards in a 44-34 upset of LSU in the opener at Tiger Stadium, Mississippi State struggled to come close to that type of output the rest of the season. That was largely due to opposing defensive coordinators not playing man coverage as Bo Pelini attempted on that fateful day. The Bulldogs' Air Raid offense finished 2020 ranked 13th in the conference averaging just 21.4 points per game. Only Vanderbilt’s offense was worse. Quarterback Will Rogers, who started the final six games of the season, is back and should be improved. He’ll be bolstered by a receiving corps that returns three of four starters. The top two running backs also return as do both offensive tackles and the center.
The defense was pretty solid last season ranking fifth in the SEC allowing 389.7 yards per game. MSU lost two of its best defensive linemen but does return Jaden Crumedy at tackle. The biggest loss is linebacker Erroll Thompson, who signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Falcons. MSU does return its other two starting linebackers including leading tackler Aaron Brule. Emerson and Emmanuel Forbes give MSU one of the best cornerback tandems in the SEC. Brandon Ruiz made 10-of-12 field goals last season and punter Tucker Day is back for his fourth season as the starter.
MORE SNEAK PEEKS:
Sept. 4 AKRON
Sept. 11 ALABAMA STATE
Sept. 18 at Penn State
Sept. 25 GEORGIA STATE
Oct. 2 at LSU
Oct. 9 GEORGIA
Oct. 16 at Arkansas
Oct. 23 BYE
Oct. 30 OLE MISS
Nov. 6 at Texas A&M
Nov. 13 MISSISSIPPI STATE
Nov. 20 at South Carolina
Nov. 27 ALABAMA