Mississippi State Report Card vs. Auburn
Let’s pass out grades for the offense, defense, special teams and coaching in Mississippi State’s 17-9 win over Auburn.
Offense: B
Where was this air raid offense when Tyler Russell was playing? Granted, we didn’t have the same quality of receivers back then, but in this game Dan Mullen used creative ways in the passing game to get the offense going. Of course, maybe the problem was Mullen wasn’t completely running the offense back then like he is now.
It’s concerning that MSU only ran for 56 total yards against a defense that had been giving up 270 yards per game on the ground. But, they did what they had to do in this game. I wrote in my preview that I thought pass first was the way to go, but I never envisioned the complete inability to run the ball. The passing game never opened up the running game, and that’s an issue.
Nevertheless, things worked out against Auburn. You never really felt like Dak couldn’t get what he needed through the air when the time came.
Defense: B+
There were four or five drives where Auburn picked up 5-10 yards almost every play all the way down the field – that was not good. But the red zone defense was spectacular. At some point in the second half you just resided yourself to the fact that Auburn would march down the field but knew they still wouldn’t score. The front seven became impenetrable inside the 10 yard line.
It was truly a bend but don’t break defense. They never did break forcing a turnover and three field goal attempts in four Auburn trips inside the 20.
Special Teams: A+
This was quite possibly the best special teams game MSU has ever played under Dan Mullen. No turnovers or mistakes and great execution. Kickoffs ended in touch-backs and Logan Cooke had a great night punting.
Westin Graves impressive boot on a 44 yard field goal was awesome, but stung a little when you scratch your head at why he didn’t attempt the final field goal vs. LSU.
Coaching: A
Dan Mullen and Manny Diaz put together a solid gameplan. Going into the game no one figured the offense would barely try to run and the defense would basically allow Auburn to move up and down the field considering their new QB. But they picked their spots to run and apply pressure and it was almost always at the right time.
John Hevesy has done a good job with the OL, although they still have work in the running game (may be more of the fault of RBs right now). Coach Hughes has done well with the safeties who were a liability but played to their strengths in this one.
Next: ESPN's Coverage of MSU vs. Auburn was Unfairly one-sided