Auburn fought hard but was unable to overcome a tough start to the game.
Auburn erased a 21-point deficit Saturday night against the Mississippi State Bulldogs but was unable to hold on as they fell to the Bulldogs 39-33 in overtime.
The Tigers rallied from down 24-6 at halftime and scored 27 second-half points to force overtime but after Anders Carlson missed a 38-yard field goal the Bulldogs’ Jo’quavious Marks ran it in from the 5-yard line to hand Auburn their fifth straight loss.
The Tigers managed just 109 yards in the first half but the ground game came alive in the second half as they clawed their way back into the game.
The comeback started with the Tiger’s defense forcing a Mississippi State punt on their first drive of the half but a bobbled snap gave the Tigers the ball deep in the Bulldog’s territory.
Facing second-and-14, [autotag]Robby Ashford[/autotag] scrambled for the 20-yard touchdown to give Auburn their first touchdown of the game and make it a 24-12 Mississippi State lead.
The Bulldog’s next punt was not much better as they punted it just 13 yards, giving Auburn the ball at the Mississippi State 35.
Ashford once again made sure Auburn capitalized on the chance, taking the designed run 18 yards for his second rushing touchdown of the game. The touchdown made it a 24-19 game with 4:18 left in the third quarter.
He finished the game with 108 yards rushing, two touchdowns, and a crucial two-point conversion.
After the teams traded punts, [autotag]Tank Bigsby[/autotag] made his presence known with a 41-yard touchdown run that gave Auburn a 25-24 lead with 6:36 left to play in the game.
The score erased a 24-3 first-half deficit and it looked like [autotag]Cadillac Williams[/autotag] was going to open his head coaching career with a win.
However, the Bulldogs were not done yet, they marched down the field on their first scoring drive of the half and retook the lead 30-25 with 3:49 left to play.
As they did throughout the second half Auburn fought back. With the Tigers facing 3rd-and-nine, Ashford hit [autotag]Ja’Varrius Johnson[/autotag] for a 24-yard gain and Auburn was in business.
After a defensive holding gave Auburn a crucial first down, Ashford took a designed run to the Mississippi State 8-yard line, and [autotag]Jarquez Hunter[/autotag] punched it in to give Auburn the 33-30 lead after Ashford converted the two-point conversion.
Mississippi State was not done though. A facemask penalty on the kickoff gave the Bulldogs the ball at the 50-yard line with 56 seconds to play.
Mississippi State’s kicker was up to the challenge and drilled the 48-yard field goal to tie it up.
The Bulldogs pulled out the trickery on the ensuing kick-off and drilled an Auburn returner and recovered the ball to give them a chance to win in regulation.
As expected with a team led by a former running back and with an offensive line coach calling plays the Tigers leaned on the ground game, rushing for 256 yards and all four of their touchdowns. They ran the ball 46 times compared to 22 passes.
Ashford’s 109 yards and two touchdowns led the way but Bigsby added 89 yards and one score on 13 carries while Hunter had 54 yards and a score of his own on 12 carries.
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