Starting quickly and in a hurry can sometimes lead to burnout or running out of fuel. For example, the Auburn Tigers shot out to a 28-3 lead on the Mississippi State Bulldogs but ran out of gas in the second half. Or they didn’t return from the tunnel. The Bulldogs made proper adjustments, and Auburn thought the game was over. Instead, Mississippi rallied from a 25 point deficit to walk away victorious 43-34.
Th streaky Bo Nix connected on his first pass for 51 yards. Four plays later, the score was 7-0. But, the Mississippi State Bulldogs thought it was going to be a long day. The Bulldogs rolled dice in the first quarter, going for the yard to gain on fourth down as early as I saw a stunned team near the fifty-yard line. But, lady luck was on their side as the drive ended with a successful field goal.
Having no fear, the Tigers responded with a bit of trickery on the kick return. A catch and pass across the field to a disguised receiver that skirted 30 yards, but a block in the back spoiled the festivities. Why was that important? It sat the tone for the game aggressive was the statement.
And aggressive it was. The Tigers scored on five long sustaining drives while rolling up time off the clock and scoring 28 points in the first half. Ja’Varrius Johnson made the most on a backward pass action pass, resulting in a 57-yard touchdown run.
Kobe Hudson is known to drop a few passes here and there that make you scratch your head. But sometimes, he turns in ESPN Highlight catches. Today was one of those days on a 15-yard touchdown pass in the back corner of the end zone that brought the crowd to its feet in appreciation.
The other Bulldogs put up ten points, but streaky Nix was on. At the 11:59 mark of the second quarter, Auburn had 220 total yards to 58. That’s called domination.
Give Mississippi credit. They made some halftime adjustments and came out of the tunnel with the right mindset that led them down the field to score on a 7 play 75-yard drive to make the score somewhat interesting 28-17.
A perfect 52-yard punt by Oscar Chapman caged the Bulldogs in at the two-yard line. Although pass interference bailed them out, the killer is not the advancement to the spot of the foul but the automatic first down. Complete defensive breakdowns and missed tackles followed as the Bulldogs put together a 98-yard touchdown drive in 10 plays churning out 5:08 minutes. That’s winning football; suddenly, we have a ball game 28-23.
A Bo Nix 44-yard bomb might be the play of the game Ja’Varrius Johnson to set up the answer, which was desperately needed, went foul on a blocked field goal attempt. The Bulldogs shut the door. Oh, boy, were the words that crossed my mind.
Another pass interference offers another gift to the 16-yard line. But, again, they took full advantage, and the lead for the first time in the game 28-29 favored the Mississippi State Bulldogs, forcing the Auburn Tigers to face the image in the mirror reflecting 20 unanswered points.
Meanwhile, Will Rogers, the gunslinger, was in the blazing hot zone 40-50 for 358 yards and 4 touchdowns. The team in white went into the tunnels with hope and came out with a determined attitude. The adjustment was made, but the home team in blue thought they had won the game. Somehow they forgot there were two more quarters to play.
Another shot to the heart, a scoring drive of 55 yards in 5 plays, was the separator. The Mississippi State Bulldogs clawed their way back from a 25 point deficit to an 8 point lead. However, the 98-yard touchdown drive was a backbreaker of a difference-maker.
T DMoultry’s big-time sack heading down the stretch resulted in targeting not being set well with the booing crowd. I am not sure of the expectations for defensive linemen when they sack a quarterback, but it doesn’t appear they should wallop them. So hard-hitting is being eliminated from the game.
Mississippi State rallied to a 43 – 34 victory as the Auburn Tigers fell apart.
Starting quickly and in a hurry can sometimes lead to burnout or running out of fuel. For example, the Auburn Tigers shot out to a 28-3 lead on the Mississippi State Bulldogs but ran out of gas in the second half. Or they didn’t return from the tunnel. The Bulldogs made proper adjustments, and Auburn thought the game was over. Instead, Mississippi rallied from a 25 point deficit to walk away victorious 43-34.
