Mississippi State vs Auburn: M&WN Staff Picks
How does the Maroon & White Nation staff think Mississippi State will do this week against Auburn?
Through four games this season it should be obvious what Mississippi State’s goal should be this season. Bowl eligibility. At this point a 6-6 record and a bowl game should be enough to satisfy most of the fan base and create some hope for improvement in 2017. In order for the to happen the Bulldogs will have to beat at least one SEC West team. The best chance for the to happen is likely this week against Auburn. The Tigers also have high stakes this week, as a loss to the Dawgs could be the final straw for coach Gus Malzhan. The wise guys in Las Vegas believe this will be a tight game but what does the Maroon & White Nation staff think?
Josh: This game is split right down the middle for me. I’ve felt that way with the Auburn game every year since 2010 and most years it hasn’t disappointed in terms of being highly competitive. Since the Dawgs are at home I’m going 20-19 Mississippi State.
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Jared: This one’s close for me. Our Dawgs have had 2 weeks to prepare for what is basically a must win at this point. I think we see a big offensive game from both teams and the Bulldogs, behind 60,000 cowbells, pull this one out. 31-28.
Dakota Knight: State 24 Auburn 17. I’m expecting a low scoring defensive battle. Neither team has convinced me they are good enough offensively to score against good defenses on a consistent basis. Auburn hasn’t had a QB separate from the pack and show he can be “the guy” for them. The bad news for State is Auburn’s strength is their DL. I’m taking State because it’s in Starkville and I think Fitz is the best QB on either team.
Thomas K. Stark:
This is a very intriguing game. Both Auburn and MSU are middle of the pack SEC teams and really need this win if they want to go to a bowl game and move up in the SEC pecking order. Auburn probably has more raw talent that the Bulldogs, especially on the defensive side of the ball. But the Tiger offense has had problems moving the ball on power 5 defenses.
Likewise, MSU has some talent on the defensive line, but the secondary is weak. And the Bulldogs seem to lack explosiveness on offense, although there has been improvement on offense, especially the play of QB Nick Fitzgerald.
I think this is a one score game and I think the difference is the home field advantage. I say MSU 28, Auburn 24.
Andrew:
With the game becoming a little bit more of a national exposure, moving to ESPN sadly due to Hurricane Matthew, the chance for good exposure is even larger. With that in mind, the Bulldogs will need to be on their absolute A-game right now to surpass the Auburn squad. They actually pulled off an impressive win against LSU that lost Les Miles his job. However, I don’t think that they will be able to pull of those heroics this week
38-31 Bulldogs