Offense clicks as AU beats Mississippi State

BY BRANDON HUGHES FOR THE OBSERVER

PHOTOS BY ROBERT NOLES

AUBURN—
From the opening snap, the Tigers’ offensive play calling showed an aggressiveness, creativity and, perhaps most importantly, a pace it had not shown against power-five competition all season. The Auburn offense would take advantage of this newfound game plan en route to a commanding halftime lead, breaking its four-game losing streak and earning its first conference win on the season. Winning 27-13, Auburn improved its record to 4-4, 1-4, while Mississippi State’s record fell to 4-4, 1-4.
The Tiger defense continued to do its part in the bend-but-don’t-break fashion it has shown so often this season. Although it allowed a few explosive plays, in the defensive statistical category that matters most, it allowed the visiting Bulldogs into the end zone only once.
Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze discussed the change in offensive philosophy after the game. He said that after the final offensive drive of the game against Ole Miss, he decided, “This is what we’re going to do. We’re going to play with some tempo.” He mentioned wanting to give the players a chance to play “free and fast.”
Another noticeable change on offense this week was the quarterback rotation— or the lack thereof. Payton Thorne was handed unfettered reigns to the offense, with Robby Ashford only entering the game twice.
“I told him (Thorne) this week, it’s time for us to put up or shut up and figure out who can run the things we want to run,” Freeze said. “I thought both (QBs) showed signs this week in practice of improvement. We started hot and felt good about our plan. We had a little plan for Robby, too. We just never really got to it.”
“I thought it was very important,” said Thorne about being able to get into a rhythm and the advantage pace gave the offense. “Coach emphasized it all week, and I thought our guys did a good job of getting the ball back to the ref, letting them spot it and then rolling again. The O-line did a good job of picking up whatever they were bringing too. I thought that was a big part of what we were doing.”
After receiving the game’s opening kickoff, Auburn opened the game with a handoff to Mississippi native Jarquez Hunter for an 11-yard gain to jump-start the Tiger offense. Seven plays later, Thorne connected with Shane Hooks for a 27-yard touchdown. On the touchdown play, Hooks caught the contested pass at the nine-yard line and drug the defender into the end zone, giving Auburn its first first-quarter touchdown pass and its earliest touchdown of the season to take a 7-0 lead.
On Mississippi State’s first possession, the Bulldogs wasted little time getting into the action as quarterback Mike Wright connected with Zavion Thomas for 32 yards on its opening play. State would continue to move the ball, converting a fourth down and getting as deep as the Auburn 10-yard line, where the Tiger defense would hold strong, forcing a field goal to cut the Auburn lead to 7-3.
Auburn had an answer of its own on the following drive. After completing a short pass to Camden Brown on first down, Thorne ran for eight yards and a first down. Thorne then completed two more passes before hitting Ja’Varrius Johnson in stride as he sprinted open down the Auburn sideline for a 45-yard touchdown. It was the longest pass completion for the Tigers on the season. After two drives, Thorne was 8/9 for 120 yards and two touchdowns, leading the Tigers to a 14-3 lead.
Auburn tight end Rivaldo Fairweather was glad to see the Thorne he knows finally show up in a game.
“I saw the quarterback I been seeing every day,” Fairweather said. “Because in practice, we really do look amazing. And finally, we get to see our quarterback be comfortable in there and sling it around, make the right checks, making the right throws, making the right reads. That’s the Payton I knew since I got here. We’re going to continue to see that Payton.”
Following three drives between the two teams that ended in punts, Auburn used a six-play, 31-yard drive to extend its lead to 17-3 off the toe of Alex McPherson with a 39-yard field goal.
After the next two drives ended in punts, State found itself putting a drive together, moving into Auburn territory and facing a fourth down and one at the Tigers’ 30-yard line. Auburn’s Jalen McLeod came up big with a tack-for-loss giving Auburn the ball on a turnover on downs with 1:14 left in the first half.
With an eye on putting at least three on the board heading into halftime, Thorne continued with the hot hand. After Hunter started the drive with a six-yard run, Thorne mixed in five passes and a QB draw to get to the Bulldogs’ seven-yard line. On the following play, Thorne lofted a well-thrown ball over Jeremiah Cobb’s shoulder, giving the freshman running back his first receiving touchdown of his career and sending Auburn to halftime up 24-3. Auburn’s 21-point halftime advantage is the largest against an SEC opponent since the 2019 Mississippi State game (33 points). Auburn racked up 301 yards on offense in the first half, which is more yards than it had gained in every game against a power five opponent except for Georgia.
Mississippi State opened the second half with a methodical 12-play drive down to the Auburn 14-yard line, but once again, the Auburn defense stiffened. The Bulldogs kicked a field goal to bring the score to 24-6. Auburn would answer right back with a 12-play drive of its own, ending in a 49-yard field goal by McPherson—his 14th successful attempt in a row—making the score 27-6.
The Bulldogs would make quick work of its ensuing drive, moving 75 yards in seven plays using only 3:20 and scoring on the first play of the fourth quarter. Wright hit Thomas for a 14-yard touchdown bringing Mississippi State to within striking distance 27-13.
After the teams exchanged three-and-outs over the next three drives, State appeared to have something going when Auburn’s Zion Puckett intercepted a 41-yard pass from Wright, giving Auburn the ball at its own five-yard line. It was Puckett’s second interception of the year and the tenth consecutive game in which the Tiger defense has forced a turnover. Following a penalty that negated a third-down conversion, Auburn punted from its own three-yard line. Oscar Chapman uncorked a 47-yard punt from his own end zone giving State the ball at midfield.
Mississippi State would drive down to the Auburn 13, and for the second time in the game, the Tiger defense stopped the Bulldogs on fourth down. With 2:55 left in the game, the Tigers looked to run out the clock. On first down, Hunter gained 17 yards. On second down, he put the nail in the proverbial coffin, ripping off a 50-yard run to the Bulldog 20. That run would give Hunter 144 yards rushing in the game, the second-best rushing game in his career (147 against Alabama State in 2021). State would not see the ball again as the Tigers ran out the clock.
By the Numbers:
Mississippi State is Auburn’s second most-played opponent. The Tigers have faced the Bulldogs 97 times with a record of 63-31-3. Georgia is Auburn’s most-played opponent, having faced the Bulldogs 128 times. Georgia Tech is third at 92 games, and Alabama is fourth at 87 games.
Auburn’s defense leads the SEC in red zone scoring percentage. The Tiger defense has only allowed points on 77.8% of its opponents’ red zone opportunities. Opposing teams have had 27 red zone (20-yard line or closer) opportunities, and the defense has allowed 11 rushing TDs, three passing TDs, and seven FGs made.
Eleven different Auburn receivers caught a pass in a game for the first time since the 2019 Samford game.
Next up, the Tigers travel to Vanderbilt on Saturday, Nov. 4. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. on the SEC Network.