Auburn-Mississippi St.: Tigers In for a Battle with the Bulldogs in Starkville

The 22nd-ranked Auburn Tigers pay a visit to Starkville, Miss. to take on the Mississippi St. Bulldogs in a prime-time affair that will be televised by ESPN.

This week starts SEC play for both clubs, who were impressive in Week 1.

Auburn's Offense

Auburn quarterback Cameron Newton was named the SEC’s offensive player of the week, and has lived up to the hype early in the season.

He threw for 186 yards and three touchdowns and was fantastic on the ground with 171 rushing yards and two more scores. The Tigers dominated 52-26 in the win over Arkansas State.

Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn is a whiz at building high powered offenses and with Newton at the helm, the sky is the limit.

Bulldogs Double Trouble

The Bulldogs trounced Memphis 49-7 to win the season opener, and they did it with a two headed monster at quarterback.

Junior Chris Relf started at quarterback, but with the game well in hand, red shirt freshman Tyler Russell, received more playing time. Altogether, the passing game amassed 372 yards and five touchdowns in the win.

They will get a much tougher test when the Tigers come to town.

D-E-F-E-N-S-E

If history repeats itself Auburn should win this game as they have won eight of the last nine encounters to include four straight at Starkville.

That number is a bit diluted with such frequent personnel change in college football these days, but it still resonates with current players.

The Bulldogs have the slight edge in this game.

They are at home in a nationally televised game and face an Auburn defense that is still struggling to get situated. Although one game does not make a season, they were especially vulnerable in the passing defense as they allowed 323 passing yards to Arkansas St. and did not produce a turnover.  

The Bulldogs on the other hand looked impressive defensively just surrendering seven points, forcing two turnovers, and holding Memphis to 41 yards on the ground.

Game Time Prediction

This game will be close and down to the wire.

Newton and the Auburn offense will not be contained and will put up some points, but it won’t be enough.

The Tigers are 1-8 against the spread (ATS) in their last nine road games and 1-4 ATS in their last five games overall. The Bulldogs are 4-1 ATS in their last five games in September and 5-2 ATS in their last seven conference games.

Bulldogs Head Coach Dan Mullen will implement a two quarterback rotation which will allow his offense to throw different looks at Auburn’s defense.

This will allow the Bulldogs to keep this game close, and win it in the end.

Prediction: Mississippi St. 30 Auburn 27

Kickoff Is Here!

As usual the SEC looks like it will provide some of the best football all season long. This game should be a great one to watch and a great way to kick the week off in week two if the college football season!

Enjoy the Game!

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