Mississippi State Upends 2nd Ranked Auburn 38-23
Oct 11, 2014; Starkville, MS, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs quarterback Dak Prescott (15) carries for a touchdown against the Auburn Tigers during the first quarter at Davis Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
It wasn’t always pretty, but it was exactly what the Mississippi State Bulldogs wanted. The Bulldogs upset the 2nd ranked Auburn Tigers 38-23 in a wet and sloppy field in front 62,945 in attendance at Davis Wade Stadium.
The Bulldogs got off to a fast start. The Bulldogs turned two Auburn turnovers into touchdowns in the first quarter, and a Dak Prescott touchdown on the third possession would put the Bulldogs up 21-0. After Mississippi State stopped Auburn on the next possession, Dan Mullen called a fake punt that seemingly took all of the Bulldogs’ momentum. It led to a field goal, but Auburn would score 20 of the next 27 points.
The pivotal play came in the fourth quarter after an Evan Sobiesk field goal would push the lead back to 31-20. During the kickoff, Auburn would fumble the return. Mississippi State recovered and two players later, Josh Robinson would punch it in to make it 38-20. A tipped pass by Chris Jones would be intercepted with less than four minutes in the game at the Mississippi State 3 to ice the game.
Dak Prescott showed an incredible amount of resilience in the victory. The Auburn defense was constantly harassing the Heisman trophy candidate all night. He threw two interceptions, but he was able to overcome the adversity and lead his team to victory. THe junior quarterback completed 18 of 34 passes for 246 yards and touchdown with those two interceptions. He also ran the ball 21 times for 121 yards and 2 touchdowns. He finished with 367 yards of total offense. With Gurley’s suspension, and the Bulldogs being undefeated, to many, Prescott is the clear favorite to win the award given to the best player in college football.
The turnaround in what Dan Mullen has done against Top 25 teams is borderline miraculous. Coming into 2014, Mullen had only won two games against teams ranked in the top 25, and had never beaten a team in the top 10. He has now beaten 3 teams in the top 10 for 3 straight games.
The attention now turns to the polls which will be released tomorrow. There were numerous writers and analysts calling for the Bulldogs to be the top ranked team in the country with Florida State winning but not looking great in the process. It’s also easy to see that that Mississippi State’s wins are far more impressive than anything on Florida State’s resume.
The Bulldogs will have a week off before they head to Kentucky on October 25th.