The Mississippi State University Bulldogs suffered a 27-13 loss to the Auburn Tigers in Jordan-Hare Stadium this past Saturday.
The Bulldogs’ defense, despite putting up their best effort against Arkansas, reverted back to their old ways against Auburn. The Tigers were able to quickly put points up on the board, thanks to broken tackles and blown coverages from the Bulldogs’ secondary.
Auburn, whose passing offense ranked last in the SEC and 117th in FBS, had over 200 passing yards and put up three passing touchdowns, a career-high for Tigers quarterback Payton Thorne.
Head coach Zach Arnett expressed his feelings toward the team’s effort throughout the battle against Auburn.
“We couldn’t stop anything in the first half. We couldn’t stop the run or the pass,” Arnett said. “You aren’t winning a football game playing a half of football. I appreciate the guys’ efforts in the second half, but I’m not particularly interested in moral victories. We’ve struggled to put a full game together all year.”
Offensively, the Bulldogs were without starting quarterback Will Rogers who has been suffering from an arm injury sustained Oct. 7 in a game against Western Michigan. Additionally, running back Jo’Quavious Marks did not suit up for Saturday’s loss due to a leg injury.
With Rogers out, backup quarterback Mike Wright once again took the starting role, where he completed 16-of-32 passes for 161 yards while throwing one touchdown and one interception, along with 63 rushing yards on 14 carries.
However, Wright looked much more out of sync against Auburn than he did against Arkansas, as there were times where he tried to force the ball downfield to no avail.
“Those [throws] are difference-makers,” Wright said. “We’ll come back, we’ll clean it up, we’ll make it an emphasis going into next week and just work on those timing throws. That can help us change a ball game.”
Despite these offensive struggles, Bulldogs sophomore wide receiver Zavion Thomas was by far their most explosive player on the field, setting multiple career-highs with nine receptions for 112 yards and one touchdown.
However, the road loss puts the Bulldogs in a hole. The team now sits at a 4-4 season record, including 1-4 in SEC play. They have four games left in the regular season and must win at least two of them to become bowl eligible, which is easier said than done.
“We won’t dwell on it [the loss],” Wright said. “I mean, we’re not going to hang our hands low. I mean, there’s still some positive stuff out there that we can build upon and we’ll build on the positives and eliminate the negatives.”
After almost a month of inactivity at home, the Bulldogs will finally return to Starkville to host Kentucky in the Davis Wade Stadium for the homecoming game Saturday at 6:30 p.m. The game will be aired on SEC Network.
Redshirt Freshman Avery Sledge has appeared in nine career games.
