AUBURN, Ala. – Mississippi State’s defense was pushed to the limit against an Auburn Tiger offense that was trying to find it’s identity.
The Tigers, who replaced starting quarterback Jeremy Johnson with redshirt freshman Sean White, racked up 389 yards of total offense, but the Bulldog defense never broke.
The Tigers had four tries in the red zone, but came away with only two field goals and no touchdowns as MSU claimed a 17-9 victory at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
“The attitude it takes to dominate in the red zone, comes from our strength program,” MSU first-year defensive coordinator Manny Diaz said. “The way that our kids were trained in the offseason with coach (strength and conditioning coach Rick) Court, everything you have to have to be dominate in the red zone, they instill in those guys. All I have to do is call the defense when they get down there.”
The Tigers (2-2, 0-2) ran 15 plays in the red zone, but the Bulldogs (3-1, 1-1) only allowed 21 yards on those 15 plays.
Auburn opened the game with a nice drive and made it all the way to the MSU 5-yard line. They faced a third-and-three, but White was intercepted by Will Redmond. Coming off the turnover, Dak Prescott led the offense down the field for a touchdown and the Bulldogs never surrendered the lead.
“Certainly both teams knew that it was important to start fast,” Diaz said. “Whoever had the first big break in this game was going to have an advantage and our offense went right down and scored.”
The Tigers got to the Bulldog 1-yard line late in the first half, and they brought Johnson out. MSU coach Dan Mullen called a timeout, so Auburn brought back out White and the snap went over his head.
The Tigers had to settle for a 26-yard Daniel Carlson field goal attempt, but he missed it wide right and the Bulldogs took a 14-0 lead into the locker room at halftime.
“That’s the kind of the Mississippi State mindset – if they can’t cross the six-inch line, they can’t score,” junior linebacker Richie Brown said. “Once they get in the red zone, we’re holding them to three.”
Carlson made three field goals for the only Tiger points. He connected form 30, 25, and 51 yards. It was the first time in Auburn coach Gus Malzahn’s three-year tenure, that the Tigers didn’t score a touchdown. The last time one of his offenses didn’t score a touchdown was Sept. 15, 2012 when Arkansas State lost 42-13 to Nebraska.
Brown led the way with 13 total tackles (three for loss). He also had two sacks.
“Our defense, every time we needed them, came up big,” Mullen said.
White completed 20 of 28 passes for 188 yards. He was sacked four times, but was second on the team with 29 rush yards.
The Tigers rushed for 201 yards as a team, and Peyton Barber led the team with 137 yards on 27 carries.
“When you’re going to play a running football team and you hold them to 200 yards rushing, that’s a pretty good night,” Mullen said.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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