Heading into Saturday’s game against Auburn, Mississippi State head coach Sylvester Croom offers one piece of advice: don’t believe the hype, or the lack thereof.From what the fourth-year coach had heard and read in the newspapers, he expected to see an Auburn team going three-and-out and not achieving much success on offense, but Croom says that’s not the case.
“They’re moving the football,” he said. “They may have one bad thing happen on a drive, or a tipped ball that gets intercepted; things that hadn’t been happening to them, a few of those things are happening right now. I’m expecting them to be firing on all cylinders come Saturday.”
The Tigers, who are coming off an upset loss to the University of South Florida, will open their SEC schedule with the Bulldogs for a third consecutive year. Auburn has beaten Mississippi State in all three of those openers, holding the Bulldogs to zero points in the last two.
Croom said he likes how his team has improved over the past week and says they need to continue to improve for what he is expecting to be a physical game, lead primarily by the Auburn defense.
“Auburn is a big, fast and physical team, and we look forward to the challenge.”
One of the major challenges the Bulldogs will face on Saturday will be how to stop preseason All-SEC defensive end Quinton Groves.
Groves, a 6-foot, 253-pound senior is one sack away from tying the all-time Auburn record of 23, and Croom says getting to the quarterback is what Groves does best.
“They move Quinton around a great deal,” Croom said. “He lines up at a linebacker position or as a stand-up on the inside or the outside, but no matter where they put him, he’s coming for the quarterback.”
On offense, the Tigers are lead by left-handed senior quarterback Brandon Cox. Cox has received a lot of criticism for his shaky performance in the Tiger’s first two games, but Croom says that he sees the same consistent player he’s always seen.
“I’ve seen him and he’s playing like he has in the past,” Croom said. “He’s executing the offense very well. He understands and manages their offense.”
The Tigers will be without the services of running back Brad Lester, who is out for an indefinite period of time due to academic issues. Lester, who split time in the Auburn backfield, rushed for 510 yards and led the team in rushing touchdowns with nine.
Croom said that like LSU, Auburn will use a running back by committee ground attack, with Ben Tate and Mario Fannin to open things up for the quarterback.
“I don’t think there’s any question that they are going to try to run the football,” he said. “Then they’ll try to mix in the past and maybe a few gadget plays as well.”
Saturday’s game will mark the 80th overall meeting between the Bulldogs and the Tigers, with Auburn holding a 50-22 advantage.