NCAAF Game Recap - Mississippi State at Auburn
Sat Sep 28, 2019 7:00 PM EDT

Clem
21
UNC
20
F
Miss
31
Bama
59
F
OSU
48
Neb
7
F
TxTch
16
Okla
55
F
MissSt
23
Aub
56
F
NW
15
Wisc
24
F
Tows
0
Fla
38
F
UVA
20
ND
35
F
PSU
59
MD
0
F
MidTN
3
Iowa
48
F
AzSt
24
Cal
17
F
USC
14
Wash
28
F
WaSt
13
Utah
38
F
Rut
0
Mich
52
F
UConn
21
UCF
56
F
TxAM
31
Ark
27
F
K St
13
OkSt
26
F
Ind
31
MSU
40
F
Navy
23
Mem
35
F
Duke
45
VaTec
10
F
SJSU
24
AF
41
F
C Mi
15
WestMI
31
F
Buff
20
MiaOH
34
F
NIU
18
Vand
24
F
Kans
14
TCU
51
F
BYU
21
Toled
28
F
HolyC
3
Syr
41
F
Del
14
Pitt
17
F
JMU
45
Elon
10
F
JacSt
33
APSU
52
F
CoCar
37
App
56
F
IASt
21
Bayl
23
F
GATec
2
Temp
24
F
MIN
38
Purd
31
F
Akr
29
UMass
37
F
FlAtl
45
UNCC
27
F
Wake
27
BC
24
F
SMU
48
SoFL
21
F
Cin
52
Marsh
14
F
ArkSt
50
Troy
43
F
ULLaf
37
GaSo
24
F
ECU
24
OD
21
F
NM
10
Lib
17
F
SamHu
28
McNee
17
F
SoAl
17
ULMon
30
F
Stan
31
OreSt
28
F
UAB
13
W Ky
20
F
Nich
3
TxSt
24
F
UTEP
13
SMiss
31
F
LT
23
Rice
20
F OT
ColSt
24
UtSt
34
F
KY
7
SCar
24
F
NCSt
13
FlaSt
31
F
UNLV
17
Wyo
53
F
Fres
30
NMS
17
F
Hou
46
NorTx
25
F
Hawaii
54
NEV
3
F
UCLA
17
Ariz
20
F

Sep 28, 2019, 7:00 PM EDT

Final

1

2

3

4

T

Mississippi State (3-2)

6

3

7

7

23

(7) Auburn (5-0)

21

21

7

7

56

Nix helps No. 7 Auburn rout Mississippi State
Sun Sep 29, 2019 12:02 AM

AUBURN, Ala. (AP) After its defense led the way through the first four weeks, Auburn made a statement on the other side of the ball Saturday night.

Seth Williams had eight receptions for 161 yards and two touchdowns, JaTarvious Whitlow ran for three scores and Bo Nix had his best game in an Auburn uniform in the No. 7 Tigers' 56-23 victory over Mississippi State in Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Auburn (5-0, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) started fast, scoring three touchdowns on its first eight plays from scrimmage. It was aided by five Miss State penalties and a fumbled kickoff in the first five minutes that resulted in short fields.

Whitlow galloped for a 30-yard score on Auburn's first play. After the Tigers stifled Tommy Stevens and the Miss State offense for minus-22 yards on their first two possessions, Nix and receiver Anthony Schwartz added red-zone rushing touchdowns for a 21-0 lead.

"To come out and spot them 21 before the band even gets in their seats, you don't give yourself a chance," Bulldogs coach Joe Moorhead said.

Save for a lost fumble by Williams with 4:30 left in the second quarter, Auburn scored a touchdown on every possession in the first half. Whitlow found the end zone on a pair of 3-yard runs in the second quarter, and Nix dropped a 39-yard pass over Williams' shoulder for the score with 12 seconds until halftime.

Auburn's 42 first-half points marked its most in an SEC half since scoring the same against Vanderbilt in 1990.

Nix led Auburn down the field out of the locker room, too, capping a four-play, 75-yard drive with a 32-yard touchdown pass to Williams.

The Tigers' first punt came with 5:29 remaining in the third quarter.

"We're back to being an Auburn offense," Williams said. "This is what Auburn is about - fast-paced and scoring touchdowns. That's what (Gus) Malzahn likes to do, so that's what we're doing."

The true freshman Nix emphatically set a season high for passing yards with 335, while Williams' 161 receiving yards are the most by an Auburn player since Sammie Coates had 206 yards against Alabama in 2014.

The senior Penn State transfer Stevens earned the nod at quarterback for the Bulldogs (3-2, 1-1), but true freshman Garrett Shrader took over in the first quarter after Stevens sustained an injury on a big hit. Shrader instantly catalyzed the Bulldog offense on its first scoring drive of the night.

Malzahn said postgame he prepared his team to see both quarterbacks.

Bulldogs tailback Kylin Hill, who entered the contest leading the SEC in rushing, was held to 45 yards on 17 carries.

Shrader finished 12-of-23 passing for 209 yards and two touchdowns, and led the team in rushing with 89 yards. He added a rushing touchdown with 50 seconds remaining.

THE TAKEAWAY

Auburn: The Tigers' offense had unsurprisingly leaned on its potent rushing attack through four games. But on Saturday, Nix took full command, accounting for 391 total yards and three touchdowns. His deep-ball accuracy also looked improved from last week, when he overshot a trio of would-be touchdown passes.

Mississippi State: Shrader sparked the Bulldogs offense at times and looks to be a formidable dual-threat weapon moving forward. Injury may have played a factor in Stevens' departure from the game, but Miss State's offense looked more comfortable with Shrader under center.

UP NEXT

Auburn: The Tigers are headed for a probable Top 10 tilt with No. 9 Florida next Saturday in The Swamp.

Mississippi State: The Bulldogs have an off week before they travel to Tennessee on Oct. 12.

Passing

MissSt Att Cmp % TD-Pa Yds-Pa LgPa Int Rat
G. Shrader 23 12 52.2 2 209 47 0 112.4
T. Stevens 3 1 33.3 0 7 7 0 42.4
Aub Att Cmp % TD-Pa Yds-Pa LgPa Int Rat
B. Nix 21 16 76.2 2 335 48 0 149.4
J. Gatewood 3 2 66.7 0 26 11 0 93.8

Rushing

MissSt Att Yds-Ru Avg LgRu TDRu
G. Shrader 16 89 5.6 24 1
K. Hill 17 45 2.6 13 0
Aub Att Yds-Ru Avg LgRu TDRu
B. Nix 7 56 8.0 30 1
J. Whitlow 10 55 5.5 30 3

Receiving

MissSt Rec Yds-Rc Avg LgRc TD-Rc
F. Green 3 69 23.0 47 0
O. Mitchell 2 33 16.5 21 1
Aub Rec Yds-Rc Avg LgRc TD-Rc
S. Williams 8 161 20.1 39 2
A. Schwartz 2 67 33.5 48 0

Fumbles

MissSt F FL
J. Payton 1 1
G. Shrader 2 1
Aub F FL
S. Shivers 1 1
S. Williams 1 1

Returning

MissSt KR Avg KRTD LgKR PR Avg TD LgPR
J. Payton 1 16.0 0 0 0 0 0
Aub KR Avg KRTD LgKR PR Avg TD LgPR
C. Tutt 0 0 0 3 11.3 0 18
N. Igbinoghene 1 21.0 0 21 0 0 0

Punting

MissSt Punt Yds Avg LgPu
T. Day 4 168 42.0 45
R. Bowman 2 82 41.0 51
Aub Punt Yds Avg LgPu
A. Siposs 1 43 43.0 43

Takeaways

MissSt Int Yds InTD
L. Lewis 0 0 0

Team Stats Comparison

MissSt Aub
Points For 23 56
Total Yards 334 578
Rushing Yards 118 217
Passing Yards 216 361
Passing Completions / Attempts 13/26 18/24
Turnovers 2 3
Interceptions Thrown 0 0
Fumbles - Lost 3/2 4/3
First Downs 21 25
Penalties - Yards 9/70 5/37
Time Of Possession 35:35 25:25
Third Down Conversions/Attempts 3/12 6/10
Fourth Down Conversions/Attempts 1/2 0/1
Punts - Average Yards 6/42 1/43

Scoring Summary

1st Quarter MissSt Aub
Aub 02:05 TD JaTarvious Whitlow 30 yd run (Anders Carlson kick) 0 7
Aub 05:14 TD Bo Nix 9 yd run (Anders Carlson kick) 0 14
Aub 06:01 TD Anthony Schwartz 13 yd run (Anders Carlson kick) 0 21
MissSt 12:40 TD Stephen Guidry 9 yd pass from Garrett Shrader (missed kick) 6 21
2nd Quarter MissSt Aub
Aub 01:42 TD JaTarvious Whitlow 3 yd run (Anders Carlson kick) 6 28
MissSt 07:05 FG Jace Christmann 27 yd FG 9 28
Aub 09:27 TD Seth Williams 39 yd pass from Bo Nix (Anders Carlson kick) 9 35
Aub 14:48 TD JaTarvious Whitlow 3 yd run (Anders Carlson kick) 9 42
3rd Quarter MissSt Aub
Aub 01:32 TD Seth Williams 32 yd pass from Bo Nix (Anders Carlson kick) 9 49
MissSt 12:47 TD Osirus Mitchell 21 yd pass from Garrett Shrader (Jace Christmann kick) 16 49
4th Quarter MissSt Aub
Aub 00:44 TD Kam Martin 7 yd run (Anders Carlson kick) 16 56
MissSt 14:10 TD Garrett Shrader 7 yd run (Jace Christmann kick) 23 56

Game Information

Stadium: Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn, Alabama
Attendance: 87,451
Game Time:
Weather: