Poor first half dooms Mississippi State in loss to Auburn

AUBURN, Ala. — A week after Mississippi State’s defense delivered by far its best performance of the season in a win at Arkansas, the Bulldogs reverted back to their old ways.

Auburn entered Saturday’s game with the Southeastern Conference’s worst passing offense, averaging 151 yards per game through the air. Quarterback Payton Thorne exceeded that output in the first half alone, throwing for 192 yards and three touchdowns and leading the Tigers to a 27-13 victory over MSU.

“We couldn’t stop anything in the first half. We couldn’t stop the run or the pass,” Bulldogs head coach Zach Arnett said. “You aren’t winning a football game playing a half of football. I appreciate the guys’ efforts in the second half, but I’m not particularly interested in moral victories. We’ve struggled to put a full game together all year.”

The Bulldogs (4-4, 1-4 SEC) were on their heels from the start as Auburn (4-4, 1-4) marched right down the field after receiving the opening kickoff. Star running back Jarquez Hunter gained 11 yards on the first play from scrimmage, on his way to a season-high 144 yards on 17 carries.

The Tigers’ running game opened up the offense for Thorne, and the Michigan State transfer connected with Shane Hooks on a deep ball over the top of freshman cornerback Brice Pollock for 27 yards and the game’s first seven points. Following an MSU field goal, Thorne led Auburn to another quick score, finding Ja’Varrius Johnson for a 45-yard touchdown on which Johnson left cornerback Decamerion Richardson and safety Marcus Banks in the dust.

“It’s frustrating, especially with the defensive game we had last week,” Banks said. “We wanted to have that same mentality and intensity (in) this game, and we could have done a much better job of that.”

Making his second consecutive start in place of the injured Will Rogers, Mike Wright was forced to throw the ball much more than last week as the Bulldogs were trailing for every play their offense was on the field. They were also without leading rusher Jo’Quavious “Woody” Marks, who missed the game with a leg injury.

Wright hit Zavion Thomas on a deep ball off play action on MSU’s first offensive play for 32 yards to help set up a Kyle Ferrie field goal, but the senior signal-caller looked out of sync with his receivers at times, completing just four of 10 passes for 46 yards in the first half.

The Tigers added a field goal midway through the second quarter to make it 17-3, and after the teams traded three-and-outs, the Bulldogs got the ball back just shy of midfield with a golden opportunity to trim the deficit before halftime. On fourth-and-1 at the Auburn 30-yard line, Wright faked a handoff to running back Jeffery Pittman and took off to the right on a counter play, but stumbled behind the line of scrimmage and was brought down for a loss by Jalen McLeod.

Auburn capitalized on the turnover on downs with an eight-play, 68-yard scoring drive, as Thorne found running back Jeremiah Cobb for his third touchdown pass of the afternoon with nine seconds remaining in the half for a 24-3 Tigers lead.

“I have to realize how big I am,” Wright said. “I might not look like Cam Newton out there, but I’m a big guy. Fighting for extra yards, that’s just the mentality we have to have moving forward. Every yard matters.”

MSU was backed up to its own 10 on the opening possession of the second half thanks to back-to-back penalties, but a defensive holding call gave the Bulldogs new life, and a 37-yard run by freshman Seth Davis put them in the red zone. They stalled from there, though, and settled for another field goal — which Auburn answered by taking nearly six minutes off the clock and adding a field goal of its own to go up 27-6.

Still, the offense had found some rhythm, and that continued on MSU’s next drive, which started with a 19-yard completion from Wright to Thomas through a tight window. A 22-yard run by Pittman brought the ball across midfield, and on the first play of the fourth quarter, Wright connected with Thomas again, with the receiver making an acrobatic catch in the back of the end zone as a defender was draped all over him for a 14-yard score.

Thomas had a career day with nine catches for 112 yards and his first collegiate receiving touchdown.

“We did a really nice job of finding ways to get the ball to Zavion,” Arnett said. “He was the most explosive player out there today. We have to continue to find ways to get him as many touches as possible the rest of the year.”

The Bulldogs’ defense played much better in the second half as the Tigers took a conservative offensive approach, running the ball on 20 of their 26 plays over the final 30 minutes. MSU again moved into Auburn territory midway through the final quarter, but Wright lofted a long pass well over receiver Jordan Mosley’s head and into the hands of Tigers safety Zion Puckett for Auburn’s SEC-leading 10th interception of the year.

Following the MSU defense’s third consecutive three-and-out, the Bulldogs had one last chance to cut into the deficit. From the Tigers’ 13, Wright’s second-down pass was caught by Thomas, but he was just out of bounds along the right boundary of the end zone. On fourth down, Wright looked for Justin Robinson on the left side of the end zone, but Robinson too was unable to get a foot down in bounds.

Hunter then capped his big day with a 50-yard run to put the game on ice.

“Those (throws) are difference-makers,” Wright said. “We’ll come back, we’ll clean it up, we’ll make it an emphasis going into next week and just work on those timing throws. That can help us change a ball game.”

Wright completed 16 of 32 passes for 161 yards with a touchdown and an interception to go along with 63 rushing yards on 14 carries. Davis and Pittman were both solid filling in for Marks, combining for 17 carries and 113, but the Bulldogs struggled to finish drives, finishing just 2-for-12 on third down.

MSU is back home next week for the first time in nearly a month, hosting Kentucky in what may be their best remaining opportunity for a second conference victory.

“We could have come out with better intensity as a defense,” Banks said. “I felt like we came out with better intensity in the second half, but we have to sustain that through the first quarter, too. When you face good teams, you have to have that throughout the whole game, and we did not have that the whole game.”

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