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Auburn, number 8, went to Starkville to face the state of Mississippi on Saturday night and left with broken dreams in the playoffs and more questions than answers after a 23-9 loss to the United States. Bulldogs
The Tigers' offense had a total of 304 rushing yards and allowed three of the last fourteen chances to score in the loss. This is the fourth consecutive game in which the attack from Gus Malzahn, known for his offensive prowess, went below 350 yards. Quarterback Jarrett Stidham totaled 19 out of 38, was happy all night and was harassed by the hard-line Mississippi State Front seven hours earlier and more often.
Stidham and the Tigers offensive had difficulties, but everyone was smiling. The quarterback of the Bulldogs, Nick Fitzgerald, has solidified to become a superstar. The main double-threat weapon had a total of 195 rushing yards in the night, bringing it to 2,999 rushing yards for his career. That beats Florida's all-time quarterback Tim Tebow's all-time record for quarterback rushing (2,947).
Auburn fell to 4-2 (1-2 SEC) with the loss, and Mississippi State jumped to 4-2 (1-2 SEC) after the dominant win.
What did we learn in the game?
1. Auburn was finally exposed as a suitor: In entering the match, the Tigers did very little to secure this No. 8 standings. Of course, the victory over Washington looked good on the resume and the loss against LSU could be described as "good defeat" but all along of the season, the Tigers have been remarkably average in attack. In fact, this could be put lightly.
The offensive line was a wreck against all FBS opponents on the calendar. The attack launched by the race is raised to 2.99 yards per race on average per game against the FBS teams and the offensive has not taken full scope since the start of the first game of the year .
To make matters worse, Stidham has regressed as a smuggler. Even in the win against Washington, a match in which he undoubtedly won with his arm, he did not see big receivers running freely. This has been a theme throughout the year, including Saturday's loss to the Bulldogs. Even when he sees open receivers, he is reluctant to let it slip or flips it badly, including during a gadget party on Saturday night during which he overthrew Darius Slayton, who had no one to less than 30 meters from him.
The defense is excellent and lasts all year, but it can not do everything and simply ran out of gas in Starkville. As a result, Auburn's hopes of a playoff appearance at college football got stuck on the side of the road.
2. Nick Fitzgerald is a legend: The senior from Richmond Hill, Georgia, does not have the hype that former Bulldogs quarterback Dak Prescott was nearing the end of his career and was not close to the "Tebow mania", but he should be considered a legend in the SEC and one of the best players in the history of the state of Mississippi. Not bad for a guy whose only other high school FBS offer came from Middle Tennessee.
What his performance means for the Bulldogs 2018 is even more important for here and now. His reappearance as a weapon came at a convenient time to commit a foul under the orders of his freshman coach, Joe Moorhead. The Bulldogs won just 56 yards and 104 yards on the ground in their two consecutive losses against Kentucky and Florida, respectively.
With the return of the offensive, the Bulldogs have the opportunity to make more noise in the SEC West. Or, at the very least, make things difficult for top teams. The two losses of the SEC East teams in conference will be hard to overcome, but the Bulldogs that everyone was waiting to see before the season finally showed up in Auburn.
Or, to put it more simply, the state of Mississippi has just become a "team chaos".
3. The Bulldogs' defense is charged with stars: Auburn's defense has been widely recognized as one of the country's best all season, but the state of Mississippi showed Saturday night that no one should be left behind.
Ride Sweat showed why NFL scouts drooled over him with three bags in the night. Jeffery Simmons had a tackle for the defeat and routinely disrupted the field and safety games. Mark McLaurin scored 10 tackles and broke a Tigers screen in check.
The Bulldogs are not too noticeable, but they have been doing it since the beginning of the year. They have never surrendered more than 357 yards in any game this season and let their opponents convert only 26.87 of the third opponents into the dominant performance on Saturday night.
Mississippi State may not beat everyone, but they will definitely beat you.
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