AUBURN, Ala. — A quick peek at the big screen at Jordan-Hare Stadium revealed an interesting statistic to Mississippi State football coach Dan Mullen. He said he looked up around the end of the third quarter and realized MSU was close to Auburn in rushing yards. After MSU’s first play of the fourth quarter, MSU trailed by 44 in that department.
“If I knew that were the case (before the game), I’d say we’re down three (points) and we’re going to try to find a way to win the game,” Mullen said.
The scoreboard on the other side of the stadium reveled an 18-point deficit that grew to 32 in the next five minutes. The difference between perception and reality?
“We gave up too many explosive plays,” Mullen said.
No. 13 Auburn hit No. 24 MSU with seven plays of 30 yards or more. Two of them resulted in touchdowns; the other four were part of touchdown drives. All of those big plays proved to be MSU’s undoing Saturday night in a 49-10 loss at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
The 39-point loss combined with a 31-3 loss to then-No. 11 Georgia last week leaves MSU (3-2, 1-2 Southeastern Conference) looking for answers as it faces the worst two-game losing streak (67 points) in Mullen’s time at MSU.
The burst of explosive plays was uncharacteristic for the MSU defense up to this point. Before Saturday night it has allowed just four plays of 30 or more yards all season, ranked tied for 16th in the nation.
“I’m going to go look at it. I’m going to go study it. I’m going to say there’s a bunch of different things based on discussion from the sidelines, but I’m going to have to see it on film and break it all down,” Mullen said.
MSU has an upcoming bye week before a pair of home games against unranked BYU and Kentucky to figure the issue out. For now, it has a few starting points.
Mullen said after the Georgia game, in discussing offensive issues, that film would likely show nine or 10 players doing the right thing with one or two doing something wrong to wreck the play. He acknowledged the possibility of that being the case with the defense this week.
To that, defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons has a potential answer.
“Communication. That’s what kills us as a defense. Everybody has to be on the same page,” Simmons said. “The defensive front, we have to communicate with each other. We have to communicate with the secondary.”
One thing for sure is it cannot isolate a specific position group.
Auburn ran for 10 or more yards on six occasions and threw for 15 or more five times, presenting a balance that was problematic for the MSU defense. Naturally more of the 30-plus yard plays were passes — four passes to three runs — but the longest of them all was a run, 67 yards by backup quarterback Malik Willis.
“It’s about the mental focus,” Mullen said. “You want guys to play with a great emotion and passion on the field — which I thought we had that edge, that emotion, that passion — but they have to understand they can be too locked in and too focused. You still have to have technique.”
As was mentioned after the Georgia game, MSU quarterback Nick Fitzgerald said the team likely will have a meeting today without coaches to “just talk it all out. Talk about where we are as a team.” Mullen isn’t sure where the losses leave the Bulldogs with five conference games remaining, but he has an extra week to address the issues.
“I’m anxious to see the film,” Mullen said.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brett Hudson on Twitter @Brett_Hudson
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