Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics
Live Drive: Mississippi State vs. Auburn
November 05, 2022 | Football, Joel Coleman
Your headquarters for updates as the Bulldogs take on the Tigers. Refresh your browser for the latest updates.
STARKVILLE – After nearly a month away, Mississippi State is back at home to take on Auburn. The Bulldogs and the Tigers square off in a 6:30 p.m. game at Davis Wade Stadium. The game is set to be televised by ESPN2.
However, you can also keep it right here for the latest updates from Starkville including highlights, exclusive photos and commentary. Updates are posted in reverse chronological order, so the newest updates can be found first. REFRESH YOUR PAGE FOR THE VERY LATEST!
Mississippi State vs. Auburn Updates
- FINAL: Mississippi State 39, Auburn 33 - More soon on HailState.com!
- TOUCHDOWN MISSISSIPPI STATE. Jo'quavious Marks TD run.
- Auburn misses a field goal attempt on its OT drive.
- Dawgs will play D first in OT.
- Headed to OT tied at 33
- FIELD GOAL MSU - 44-yarder by Massimo Biscardi! Tied up at 33 with 29 seconds left.
- Touchdown Auburn. 8-yard run. Two-point conversion good. 33-30 Auburn with 1:05 left.
- TOUCHDOWN MISSISSIPPI STATE! Will Rogers 33-yard pass to Rara Thomas! Two-point conversion fails but Dawgs lead 30-25 with 3:49 left.
- Dawgs have driven to Auburn's 33.
- Touchdown Auburn. 41-yard run for Tank Bigsby. Tigers go for two. False start pushes them back and it fails. Auburn leads 25-24 with 6:36 left.
- Tigers now across midfield to the State 41. Under seven minutes left. MSU trying to hold on to its 24-19 lead.
- MSU can't get anything going and will punt. Auburn takes over at its own 40.
- Dawgs will start at their own 20. 10:59 left. MSU still up 24-19.
- Another Auburn penalty, unnecessary roughness, backs them up to the 25. Third and long and Tigers don't convert. Punt coming.
- Auburn up to the State 46, but illegal motion on a second down play pushes the Tigers back to the 39.
- MSU can't get anything going and has to punt. Auburn takes over on its own 30.
- END OF THE THIRD QUARTER: Mississippi State 24, Auburn 19 - Dawgs with the football, 2nd and 13 on their own 35 when play resumes.
- Dawg D with a much, much needed three-and-out. Auburn punts. MSU to start at its own 23.
- Bulldogs are forced to punt. Auburn starts at its own 36.
- State starts at its own 28 and Rogers is sacked on the first play, pushing the Dawgs back to the 18.
- Touchdown Auburn. 17-yard run by QB Robby Ashford. PAT is good and Mississippi State's lead is now 24-19 over Auburn with 4:18 left in the third quarter.
- Auburn now inside the State 20. 3rd and 3 at the 18.
- Dawgs get one first down and are forced to punt. It's only a 13-yarder though and Auburn starts at the MSU 35.
- MSU starts at its own 14.
- Auburn goes for it on fourth down and the Dawgs stop the Tigers. Turnover on downs.
- Dawg D is holding tough. Tyrus Wheat with a big sack pushes Auburn to a 3rd and 11 from the State 20.
- A Will Rogers pass is picked off. Tigers return it to the MSU 19.
- Dawgs start at their own 22.
- Touchdown Auburn. Tigers get a 20-yard TD run from quarterback Robby Ashford. Auburn goes for two and it fails though, with a pass picked off by Cameron Young. Mississippi State 24, Auburn 12 with 10:18 to go in the third quarter.
- State ultimately forced to punt, but the snap is mishandled. George Georgopoulos tries to run but is brought down quickly. Turnover on downs. Auburn has the ball at the MSU 16.
- MSU starts at its own 7. Dawgs just picked up a first down and are up past their own 20.
- Back underway in Stark Vegas. Auburn with the ball to start the second half. Tigers start at their own 39, drive to midfield, but that's it. They'll punt to State.
- HALFTIME: Mississippi State 24, Auburn 6
- Dawgs start at their own 20, run a few plays and get past their own 40 but that'll do it for the first half.
- Nothing doing for the Tigers. Dawg D with a three-and-out. Auburn to punt.
- MSU gets to the Auburn 42 before a fumble hands the football back to the Tigers. Tigers start at their own 48.
- Dawgs start at their own 33.
- Field Goal Auburn. 42-yarder is good. Mississippi State 24, Auburn 6 with 4:05 left in the second quarter.
- And the Dawg D bent a little, but didn't break. Jett Johnson sack. Auburn back to the State 25 and they'll try a field goal.
- Ensuing Auburn drive starts at its own 25. A couple of big plays later and the Tigers are all the way to the MSU 20.
- That was Tulu's second career kickoff return for a TD. And if you missed it or want to relive it, well here ya go...
🗣️ TULU. TO. THE. HOUSE. #HailState🐶 pic.twitter.com/CNeD3ldehV
— Mississippi State Football (@HailStateFB) November 6, 2022
- TOUCHDOWN MISSISSIPPI STATE. 92-yard kickoff return for a score by Lideatrick Griffin. PAT is good and MSU leads Auburn 24-3 with 8:12 left in the second quarter.
- Field Goal Auburn. Dawgs keep the Tigers out of the end zone, but Auburn gets on the board with a 27-yarder. Mississippi State 17, Auburn 3 with 8:27 left in the second quarter.
- Dawgs fumble and Auburn recovers. Tigers take it to the MSU 8.
- MSU drive starts at its own 26.
- Tigers get hit with a holding penalty and ultimately face a 4th and 4. They'll punt to MSU.
- Auburn drive starts at its own 25.
- TOUCHDOWN MISSISSIPPI STATE. 22-yard pass from Will Rogers to Rara Thomas. Rogers threw it up and Thomas goes over the defender to make the grab. PAT is good and the Dawgs lead Auburn 17-0 with 14:11 left in the second quarter.
- Dawgs start at the Auburn 25 and get to the 22 after a couple of plays.
- Tigers go for it and Shawn Preston Jr. stops them in the backfield. Turnover on downs.
- END OF FIRST QUARTER: Mississippi State 10, Auburn 0
- Now it's decision time for Auburn. 4th and less than a yard. Tigers on their own 26. They'll think about it over the quarter break.
- For the first time tonight, the Auburn offense doesn't go three-and-out. Tigers convert on a third down and have the ball at their own 17.
- Dawgs decide to punt and Archer Trafford punts 40 yards and makes Auburn start at its own 5.
- Bulldog offense is past midfield to the Auburn 45, but MSU is facing a 4th-and-2 and calls a timeout to discuss things.
- Back to that TD pass earlier. Not only did Will Rogers set the new MSU career record for passing TDs, he also set the new State career record in passing yardage. Here's the play if you missed it (or just want to see it again).
Record-setting touchdown AND the 🦆 dance.
— Mississippi State Football (@HailStateFB) November 5, 2022
Doesn't get much better. #HailState🐶 pic.twitter.com/IvevAwt10S
- State drive starts at the Bulldog 22 as MSU tries to add on to its 10-0 lead.
- Auburn gets the ball and the MSU D quickly with another three-and-out. Tigers punt.
- That scoring toss allowed Will Rogers to become Mississippi State's career leader in touchdown passes, surpassing Dak Prescott.
𝐓𝐎𝐔𝐂𝐇𝐃𝐎𝐖𝐍 𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 👑@Wrogers__2 breaks MSU's career passing touchdown record (previously held by @dak) with a 13-yard TD strike to @c_ducking17! #HailState🐶 pic.twitter.com/rmj6CQGI5b
— Mississippi State Football (@HailStateFB) November 5, 2022
- TOUCHDOWN MISSISSIPPI STATE. Will Rogers hits Caleb Ducking on a 13-yard pass. The PAT is good and MSU leads Auburn 10-0 with 9:16 left in the first quarter.
- A three-yard pass to Dillon Johnson and a 57-yard strike to Lideatrick Griffin and the Dawgs are back in the red zone already.
- After the Auburn punt, State starts at its own 22.
- Make it a three-and-out. Auburn to punt.
- Auburn drive begins at its own 29. And it's quickly third down after MSU defense holds strong against a couple of Tiger runs.
- FIELD GOAL MISSISSIPPI STATE. Massimo Biscardi drills a 28-yarder to give the Dawgs an early 3-0 lead over Auburn. 12:26 left in the first quarter.
- A 35-yard kickoff return by Lideatrick Griffin starts the Dawgs at their own 38, then MSU moves the ball swiftly down the field with three Will Rogers completions and a Jo'quavious Marks rush. State all the way up to the Auburn 13.
- Auburn has won the toss and deferred, so the Dawgs will start on offense. Game time folks!
- Tick tock, tick tock...
Almost time 🔜#HailState🐶 pic.twitter.com/REZV9kpMQu
— Mississippi State Football (@HailStateFB) November 5, 2022
- Check out tonight's game program right here:
📖 Tonight's game program is 𝐋𝐈𝐕𝐄.#HailState🐶
— Mississippi State Football (@HailStateFB) November 5, 2022
- Walking with the Dawgs:
- Dawgs gonna be looking sharp tonight. The State script is back:
𝓣𝓸𝓭𝓪𝔂'𝓼 𝓯𝓲𝓽.#HailState🐶 pic.twitter.com/nrT31JUKB4
— Mississippi State Football (@HailStateFB) November 5, 2022
- Check out a few storylines for tonight's matchup:
- 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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