A strong first half allowed Auburn to cruise to its first SEC win of the season.
It took five tries, but Hugh Freeze has earned his first SEC win as Auburn’s head coach.
Auburn used a dominating first half to coast past Mississippi State, 27-13, on Saturday afternoon at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Auburn (4-4, 1-4 SEC) jumped out to a dominating 24-3 halftime lead after posting 301 total yards. Quarterback [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag] appeared to be comfortable throughout the game, as he tossed three passing touchdowns in the first half on his way to a 230-yard performance. Mississippi State (4-4, 1-4 SEC) busted for 223 total yards in the second half, but they could not overcome the giant first-half deficit laid out by Auburn.
The Tigers dominated the first quarter by outgaining the Bulldogs, 163-77 en route to a 14-3 lead. Thorne completed eight passes for 120 yards and two touchdowns. On the Tigers’ initial drive, he connected with [autotag]Shane Hooks[/autotag] on a 27-yard pass with 11:38 remaining in the quarter to put the Tigers up, 7-0.
After a Mississippi State field goal on their first possession, Thorne again led Auburn on a 75-yard drive that ended with a 45-yard touchdown pass to [autotag]Ja’Varrius Johnson[/autotag] to extend the Auburn lead to 14-3. [autotag]Jarquez Hunter[/autotag] was the Tigers’ leading rusher with 61 yards on six carries.
Auburn added 10 points to their total in the second quarter to take a 24-10 lead into the locker room for halftime. Kicker [autotag]Alex McPherson[/autotag] jumped into the box score by connecting on a 39-yard field goal with 7:18 remaining in the 2nd quarter. The Tigers ended the half on a touchdown connection between Thorne and freshman running back [autotag]Jeremiah Cobb[/autotag] for a seven-yard touchdown pass to extend the Auburn lead to 24-10 with 0:09 remaining.
Auburn’s first half ended with 301 total yards, compared to Mississippi State’s 122-yard output. Thorne ended the half with 192 passing yards and three scores with a completion percentage of 75%. He completed a pass to 11 different receivers in the first half, with [autotag]Rivaldo Fairweather[/autotag] hauling in three passes for 22 yards. Defensively, Keionte Scott and [autotag]Eugene Asante[/autotag] recorded five tackles each. Asante and [autotag]Jalen McLeod[/autotag] had a tackle for loss.
The third quarter was rather quiet, as both teams traded field goals. Mississippi State’s Kyle Ferrie nailed his second field goal of the day from 40 yards with 9:10 to go in the quarter. McPherson answered with 3:14 to go in the 3rd quarter to extend Auburn’s lead to 27-6. Thorne added 32 yards to his passing total in the quarter to break the 200-yard mark for the second time this season.
State opened the 4th quarter by scoring their first touchdown of the game. Wright found Zavion Thomas from 14 yards away on the first play of the quarter to trim Auburn’s lead to 27-13. Mississippi State had a chance to cut the lead even more, but a fourth down attempt from the Auburn 13-yard line did not work in their favor, allowing Auburn to run out the clock.
Auburn outgained Mississippi State, 416-345. Thorne completed 20 passes to 11 different receivers, with Rivaldo Fairweather making four catches for 31 yards. Yardage-wise, Ja’Varrius Johnson led the team with 59 yards on two catches. Hunter’s day ended with 144 yards, which goes down as his first 100-yard game of the season.
Defensively, [autotag]Eugene Asante[/autotag] led the team in tackles with nine, while [autotag]Jalen McLeod[/autotag] recorded two tackles for loss. [autotag]Zion Puckett[/autotag] recorded his second interception in as many games in the 4th quarter.
Auburn will go for their second SEC win of the season next week on the road at Vanderbilt. The Tigers and Commodores will face off at FirstBank Stadium next Saturday at 3 p.m. CT on SEC Network.
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