Football is a game of inches, and Mississippi State witnessed that first hand in its game against Auburn Saturday. On the final play of the game, senior quarterback Chris Relf was stopped inches short of the goal line, giving the Tigers a seven- point win. Toward the end of the third quarter, Auburn gambled on a fourth-and-one play and was given the first down on a very close call.
Both of these plays proved crucial for the Dawgs, but State head coach Dan Mullen said his team’s difficulties fall squarely on his shoulders.
“That’s a tough loss for us right there, and it’s 100 percent and completely on me; I need to get our team better prepared,” Mullen said. “They (Auburn) found a way to get that one-eighth of a final inch, and they stopped us one-eighth of a final inch short.”
However, Mullen said these plays were not the only ones that could have changed the game. The Tigers outplayed the Dawgs on special teams finishing with 186 return yards compared to State’s 87 return yards. MSU also missed numerous tackles throughout the game that gave Auburn several big plays.
Tiger running back Michael Dyer had a career long 52-yard run in the third, and the Tigers finished with 235 yards on the ground. State senior defensive back Charles Mitchell said being on the field for long periods of time can become frustrating for the defense.
“Missed tackles prevented us from having a better chance of winning the game,” Mitchell said. “We knew it was going to be four quarters, and we knew we were in for a fight; we just had to settle down and play our defense.”
Junior linebacker Cameron Lawrence, who had 14 tackles, said the defense expected Auburn to run between the tackles, but instead the Tigers ran outside the defense.
“We had several missed tackles, and we had some guys out of place. They’re all things we can take care of, and our coaching staff is going to work on our tackling, so we expect to be flawless with LSU next week,” Lawrence said.  “We have to put it behind us because we have LSU, who is going to be just as good of a team, and hopefully we will play with a chip on our shoulder.”
LSU will bring a strong running attack to Davis Wade Thursday night. In the first two games of the season, LSU grounded out 175 yards each game and a combined eight rushing touchdowns in the two games.
LSU’s solid rushing attack has led it to score 40 or more points in its two wins.
The Dawgs’ loss to Auburn could quickly bring the team down, but the guys do not have time to think about this loss with LSU coming to town. Mullen said the team played hard and never quit, which is a defining feature of the MSU football program.
“It’s a tough loss that will test the character of our coaching staff, our strength staff, our administration, our trainers, our student body, this team and this football family,” Mullen said. “It will test everyone’s character to see how we respond in five days to the best team in the country.”
This loss has the potential to negatively affect the team, but Mullen said the team must practice at a high speed in order to make the plays required to get the big wins.
“Psychologically we are going to buckle up and go play hard; that’s what we worry about in our psyche,” Mullen said. “I think it’s a matter of maturity, and the differential between practice and game speed makes a difference.”
The Bulldogs will need another strong performance from Relf to overcome the Tigers. Relf had 195 yards and a touchdown through the air but also grounded out 106 yards rushing. Senior running back Vick Ballard recorded his second 100-yard rushing performance, finishing with 135 yards on the ground.
Relf chose to run the ball on the final play of the game at Auburn and was inches away from scoring the game-tying touchdown but said he would not let this keep him down for his next opponent.
“I was very close, very close. It felt like I was in,” Relf said. “I wish we could have come out with the win, but I just have to improve every week, work hard in practice and get ready to play LSU.”
Thursday’s game against LSU will kick off at 7 p.m.