For much of the game on Saturday night in Starkville, it looked as if it would be a replay of the 2008 3-2 game in which Tommy Tuberville’s Auburn team somehow outlasted Sylvester Croom and Mississippi State.
Thanks to the Auburn defense and some big plays from Bo Nix, Seth Williams and Tank Bigsby in the fourth quarter, fans weren’t subjected to that again.
Kevin Steele, who saw his defense in back-to-back games get shredded, dialed up the perfect game plan against the Air Raid attack and a true freshman quarterback in Will Rogers that is still learning the game. The coverage was excellent, the pressure in the most important times got to Rogers and the Tigers were set on making the State offense move the ball down the field in bunches.
That wasn’t going to work tonight and, with a 9-3 lead in the fourth quarter and backed up against the opponent’s end zone, Nix to Williams came through big once again as the Auburn quarterback found his favorite wide receiver for a 25-yard gain. A few plays later, the combo hit again for a 32-yard touchdown.
It wasn’t the most impressive performance from Auburn. In fact, it was far from it. The Bulldogs scored quickly after the Williams touchdown catch to cut the score to 16-10 but once again Bigsby, who rushed for 192 yards, did his work and then Nix completed the job that faked out the same defender twice.
The only question is where do the Tigers go from here. With so much talk about the future of Malzahn at Auburn and whether or not the powers that are will pay his buyout and who they will bring in instead, this isn’t the type of win that the eighth-year head coach needed to convince people he is still the man for the job.
This is not a good Mississippi State team and the fact that the Tigers had a problem putting them away wasn’t exactly a promising sign.
I have said before what I think about the future of Auburn under Malzahn and that is I just don’t think the program is heading in the right direction with him in power. With his job probably on line — if it hasn’t already been decided — Malzahn brought out the old combination of sweater vest and visor and then, in a move out of the gutsy coach we used to know, went for it on a 4th down in the first quarter. He acted like a coach who knew his days were numbered.
It was a win and nothing else. We can feel good for everyone involved while also questioning which direction this program should go in. It will be an interesting few days on the Plains.