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Auburn football vs. Mississippi State: History Shows Season Determined by This Game
As Auburn football gets ready to take on Mississippi State this weekend, we look at the history of this series and how the outcome has determined Auburn’s season.
Going back to 2010, the Auburn football season has pretty much been determined on the outcome of the Mississippi State game.
This idea was brought up when the editor of Maroon & White pointed out that the two teams have split this series over the past six years.
Looking at that time frame, each year Auburn has won they’ve gone on to have successful seasons, but when they’ve lost the season was considered a disappointment.
We’ll start in 2010 when Cam Newton led Auburn to a 3-point victory over Mississippi State in Starkville.
I can remember watching that game in Auburn and running out to roll Toomer’s after the win. Even though it was only the second game of the season, you knew Auburn – and Cam Newton – were going to be something special that year.
Once again Auburn beat the Bulldogs in the second game of the 2011 season. That year didn’t go quite as planned, but the Tigers still went on to win eight games despite losing so much on offense and defense from the 2010 team.
In 2012 the Tigers were blown out 28-10 by Mississippi State in Starkville in what would lead to the demise of Gene Chizik.
A narrow 24-20 victory against Mississippi State in the third game of the 2013 season set the Tigers up for a run at the SEC Championship game.
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Since then Auburn has lost two in a row in what most Auburn fans would consider disappointing seasons, winning eight and seven games respectively the past two seasons.
As you can see, in two of the three years that Auburn beat Mississippi State they went on to win 10-plus games.
I’m not saying a win over Mississippi State this weekend will lead Auburn to an SEC Championship, but it will definitely determine the fate of this season.
If Auburn fails to beat Mississippi State for the third straight season, I’m not sure how 2016 can be a success. It will put them at 3-3 on the season, and Auburn football would be underdogs in all but two of their remaining games.
A win would give the team a ton of confidence and set them up to win games over Arkansas and Georgia the rest of the way.
The Mississippi State game always seems to come early in the year, and the winner typically goes on to have a very good season.
If Gus Malzahn and company wants 2016 to be a successful season, they really need a win in Starkville this weekend.
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