Mississippi State, led by a surprisingly effective air attack, left Auburn last Saturday night with a 17-9 victory. 
This win also put MSU back into the Top 25. The Bulldogs are now ranked 22nd in the Coaches poll and 21st in the AP poll. At the beginning of the season MSU was unranked, and after week one, they quickly jumped into the Top 25 before losing to LSU and falling out of the Top 25. Now after a big-road win, the Bulldogs are back to being ranked.
Over the course of MSU history, they have always been a run-first team whether it be under Mullen, Sherrill or even the years of Sylvester Croom.
MSU’s bread and butter was to run the football. However, Saturday night that was not the case as the Bulldogs won this game through the air, not on the ground. MSU has thrown the ball 151 times this season and have only ran it 112 times. 
“I want to be a 50-50 team. But I also know we have some playmakers on the edge, let’s not be silly and get those guys the ball,” said MSU Head Coach Dan Mullen on why they threw the ball 41 times and only ran it 29.
Quarterback Dak Prescott went 29-41 through the air, gaining 270 yards and threw two touchdowns. Prescott did not have a go-to receiver this game as he would spread the ball around all night. Fred Ross led MSU with seven catches and 66 yards. De’Runnya Wilson and Gabe Myles were on the receiving end of the two touchdowns. Prescott has thrown for 1069 passing yards this season and has a 66.9 completion percentage.
Myles caught a 32-yard touchdown pass from Prescott on MSU’s first drive of the game. The other scoring drive came in the second quarter, as Wilson made a spectacular sideline catch for a 17 yard touchdown reception.  
“Just using my size to the best of my ability. Like I said before, you can’t stop big time players from making big time plays. That what I bring to the table, it’s what I do,” said Wilson on the amazing catch.
On defense, MSU gave up huge yardage between the twenties but got stops when it mattered, mainly in the red zone. Twice in the first half Auburn was inside the five yard line, and twice in the first half Auburn left with no points. MSU this season has only given up four touchdowns in the 14 times an opponent’s offense has been in the red zone. While being extremely effective on offense in the red zone, scoring a touchdown on 12 of MSU’s 15 trips this season. 
“The attitude it takes to dominate the red zone comes from our strength program,” said MSU Defensive Coordinator Manny Diaz. “The attitude, the mentality that is the core value of our program. “
MSU was led in tackles by Richie Brown, who had 13 total tackles, two of those being sacks. Will Redmond stepped up and got an interception on the first drive of the game, after missing a pick and allowing a huge catch a couple plays before, he also had 4 tackles.  Brown also earned SEC player of the week honors for his efforts, and he is also tied for third in the SEC for tackles with 39.
MSU will be back in action next weekend at Kyle Field in College Station, Texas against Texas A&M. The Aggies are 4-0 this season and are coming off of an overtime win over Arkansas. The game will start at 6:30 and be broadcast on the SEC network.

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Sarah Story, The Reflector

Wide receiver Fred Ross looks for space upfield as two Auburn defenders give chase. Mississippi State’s 17-9 victory over Auburn last Saturday regained them a spot at No. 21 in the Associated Press Top 25 polls and No. 22 in the Coaches polls.