Mississippi State’s Storylines vs. Auburn

STARKVILLE – Following a week off, Mississippi State returns to action on Saturday with a home game against Auburn.
The Bulldogs and Tigers are set for a 6:30 p.m. CT contest at Davis Wade Stadium. The showdown is set to be televised by ESPN2. Fans can listen to live audio of the game by CLICKING HERE.

Mississippi State's Storylines vs. Auburn

MSU and Auburn are meeting for the 96th time, and last year's matchup was historic. The Bulldogs posted the largest comeback in school history with 40 consecutive points to erase a 28-3 deficit and win 43-34 on The Plains.
QB Will Rogers broke the school record for single-game passing touchdowns against the Tigers last season with six in the comeback effort.
Rogers has tied Dak Prescott's (2012-15) MSU career record with 70 passing touchdowns. He needs 106 yards to match Prescott's career passing yards record (9,376).
Four current Bulldogs are now among the top 10 in MSU career history for total receptions: RB Jo'quavious Marks (2nd, 175), WR Austin Williams (7th, 134), RB Dillon Johnson (8th, 132) and WR Jaden Walley (10th, 124).
Williams was named one of 12 finalists for the William V. Campbell Trophy. He is MSU's fifth finalist and the only finalist this season with a perfect 4.0 GPA every year of his career. The last Bulldog finalist was Taveze Calhoun (2015), who now serves on staff as graduate assistant.
CB Emmanuel Forbes was named a midseason All-American by the Associated Press, CBS Sports and the Athletic and is one of 12 semifinalists for the Jim Thorpe Award given to the nation's best defensive back.
Forbes leads the SEC with five interceptions and 11 total passes defended. He boasts the No. 5 coverage grade (84.7) in the conference per PFF, and his 83.3 overall defensive grade ranks ninth.
In 2022, MSU is outscoring opponents 66-14 in the first quarter. The Bulldogs are 12-4 when scoring first under Mike Leach.
Mississippi State leads the nation in red zone touchdown percentage (87.50 percent), red zone passing touchdown percentage (58.33 percent) and points per red zone drive (5.38).
State held No. 6 Alabama (Oct. 22) to 29 rushing yards on 27 carries (1.1 ypc). The Bulldogs are the fifth team since 2020 to hold Alabama to fewer than 100 yards on the ground and only the second to hold the Crimson Tide to fewer than 30.
The Bulldogs have held 13 opponents to less than 100 rushing yards in 32 games under defensive coordinator Zach Arnett since 2020, which is third in the SEC and tied for 13th in the FBS. Nine of those have come against SEC teams and seven have come on the road.
The Bulldogs lead the SEC with nine interceptions and are fifth in the league with 37 pass defenses this season.
Marks has caught a pass in 31 consecutive games, which is the second-longest active streak in the SEC and tied for No. 14 nationally. He has at least one reception in every game of his collegiate career. Marks is sixth among active players nationally, averaging 5.65 receptions per game in his career.
Rogers has thrown for 300-plus yards and at least three touchdowns in 14 of his 30 career games. The closest active player to him since 2020 is Wake Forest's Sam Hartman at 11 games.
Rogers has tossed a touchdown in 25 of his last 27 games with 69 scores in that span. Since 2020, Rogers has tossed multiple touchdowns in 16 different games, which trails only Alabama's Bryce Young (19) and Tennessee's Hendon Hooker (18) among active SEC quarterbacks.
In 27 career starts, Rogers has thrown just 16 interceptions despite having 1,339 passing attempts (1.19 percent).
The Bulldogs are running the ball at the highest clip (93.0 ypg) of a Leach-coached team since the 2016 Washington State team (120.0 ypg). State already has 20 runs of 10-plus yards through eight games after posting just 23 in 13 games last year and 20 in 11 games in 2020.
Five State receivers have caught at least 30 balls. No other SEC school has more than two.
MSU is currently second among Power 5 teams in yards after catch (1,488) after leading the nation in 2021.
The Bulldogs and Arizona are the only teams in the nation with three games of 400 or more passing yards.
WR Caleb Ducking is one of three SEC players and 38 players nationally to turn in multiple receiving touchdowns in multiple games this season.
WR Lideatrick Griffin is third nationally in yards per kick return (29.5). Griffin's career average (32.5) is tops among active FBS players and would exceed the school record by 5.8 yards.
The Bulldogs have a 90.2 special teams grade from PFF, which ranks fourth in the FBS.
The Bulldogs have collected at least one takeaway in 25 of 32 games under defensive coordinator Zach Arnett.
MSU has 31 total picks in 32 games under Arnett. The Bulldogs have nine multi-interception games and are 9-0 in them. Ten active players have collected 27 total interceptions in their careers.
LB Jett Johnson has led MSU in tackles in four games and has a team-high 72 stops this season, which trails only Vanderbilt's Anfernee Orji in the SEC.
Johnson and LB Nathaniel Watson both have six career double-digit tackle games, a total that is the 11th-most by any Bulldog since 1988.
Watson leads the Bulldogs with 4.0 sacks, which is tied for sixth in the SEC.
LB Tyrus Wheat now has 15.5 career sacks, which is 0.5 shy of cracking the MSU career top 10, and his 0.53 career sacks per game mark ranks 24th among active players.
Under Mike Leach, the Bulldogs are 12-0 when scoring at least 30 points.

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Mississippi State’s Storylines vs. Auburn

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