After a heartbreaking loss to South Carolina on national television, the road only gets tougher for the Mississippi State Bulldogs as the 4th-ranked Auburn Tigers roll into town this weekend.
“We’re playing a very good football team,” head coach Sylvester Croom said. “They don’t seem to change much from year to year. They have talent. They have experience. It will be a great challenge for us.”
Dixon out with hand injury
Bad luck continued to fall into the Bulldogs’ hands this week as starting running back Anthony Dixon suffered an injury to his left hand in Tuesday’s practice session, which required immediate surgery.
No timetable has been set for his return.
“Right now, all I know is that he’s not going to play Saturday,” Croom said.
Dixon-a true freshman-rushed for 64 yards in last Thursday’s season opener, outpacing all Bulldog running backs.
The Bulldogs will turn to sophomore Brandon Thornton-the starter against South Carolina-to fill Dixon’s shoes.
Thornton rushed for 25 yards on nine carries in the season opener.
Conner to back Rutland
Taking over for the injured Michael Henig, redshirt freshman Tray Rutland will have to look past senior wide receiver Omarr Conner for the bulk of his targets.
Why? Conner will be taking a reduced role in the receiving core to backup Rutland at quarterback, a position he played under Croom for almost two seasons.
“Omarr will work some at wide receiver and some at quarterback,” Croom said early in the week. “The good thing is that he has played quarterback in the system before.”
“He will still be an integral part of our offense, particularly in our third down packages,” Croom added.
Ducre ruled eligible
Freshman running back Christian Ducre was ruled eligible to play by the NCAA earlier this week.
Ducre transferred to Mississippi State from Tulane due to the school dropping his major from their curriculum and thus was able to have the mandatory one-year eligibility delay rescinded.
“We’re glad he’s eligible,” Croom said, “but with all the lost time, we’re going to have to work him into special teams and see where he is right now.”
Tigers off to hot start
The Tigers are 1-0 after a dominating 40-14 win last Saturday over Washington State and have won their last 13 consecutive Southeastern Conference openers.
Head coach Tommy Tubberville’s squad is second in the SEC in total offense and tied with MSU for 4th in total defense.
“The thing that always impresses me when I look at Auburn is their offensive line,” Croom said. “It allows them to run the football and eat up the clock. I don’t see any obvious weaknesses.”
Auburn running back Kenny Irons also leads the league in rushing with 183 yards after one game. Irons rushed for 1,293 yards and 13 touchdowns in nine starts in 2005.
“When we played them last year, he wasn’t playing,” Croom said. “He gives them an extra dimension that they really didn’t have last year. He’s a hard runner with excellent vision.”
See-Saw Series
Auburn has won five straight meetings with the Bulldogs dating back to 2001. Prior to that the Bulldogs had won four staight from the Tigers, preceded by four straight victories by Auburn.