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Oct 8, 2016; Starkville, MS, USA; Auburn FootballTigers quarterback Sean White (13) drops back in the pocket during the first quarter of the game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Davis Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports
Here we take a look at three aspects Auburn football improved on against Mississippi State, and three areas where Auburn took a step back.
Auburn football put a hurting on Mississippi State Saturday, destroying the will of their team and fanbase during the Tigers’ first road test.
It’s hard to not be excited about Auburn football after that huge win, but let’s take a second to remember that Mississippi State did lose to South Alabama at home earlier this year in an 11 a.m. game.
That’s not to say our boys didn’t play a great game, but this team still has a lot to prove.
The Tigers now have their fourth win of the season, and with two more easy wins on the schedule (Alabama A&M and Vanderbilt), a bowl game is pretty much locked up.
Now it’s just a matter of how far can this Auburn team go in 2016?
We tend to find out more-and-more about this team each week, and another test awaits them with Arkansas coming up next.
Since the Texas A&M game, Auburn has taken significant strides forward each week. The defense has been outstanding all year, and now I think the offense has found its identity as well in running the football.
There is still much to work on with this team, but Gus Malzahn seems to have them going in the right direction.
With that, let’s take a look at three areas where I thought Auburn really excelled this week, and where they took a step back.
Oct 8, 2016; Starkville, MS, USA; Auburn Tigers running back Kamryn Pettway (36) runs the ball as he is defended by Mississippi State Bulldogs defensive back Jamoral Graham (9) during the second quarter of the game at Davis Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports
Running Attack
We knew Auburn had a great running attack coming into this game, but you wanted to see them do it on the road against a legitimate opponent.
They proved that and more by running the ball 56 times for 228 yards – a 4.1 average. And they did that without their starting running back who left early because of injury.
With Kerryon Johnson gone, Kamryn Pettway stepped up in a big way carrying the ball 39 times for 171 yards and 3 touchdowns.
My only problem with this is that Gus Malzahn didn’t allow Kam Martin to get more touches in a blowout. With Malik Miller and Johnson both hurt, Martin could be called on a lot more.
Maybe Gus was holding him back to prevent him from getting hurt, but the freshman needs some playing time.
Still, this was another great performance on the ground, and I thought it really opened things up for Sean White to have a nice day throwing the football.
Carlton Davis
Not that Carlton Davis’ stock had gone down, but I really hadn’t seen him be as dominate as I know he can be the past few weeks.
A lot of that could have to do with the fact that most offenses don’t bother throwing the ball his way.
That wasn’t the case for Mississippi State as they continued to challenge him in the first half, but were unsuccessful. He finished with a game-high 3 pass break-ups.
I’ve said it several times, and I’ll say it again, Carlton Davis is one of the best shutdown corners in the country. It was great to see him display that talent this past weekend against Mississippi State.
Oct 8, 2016; Starkville, MS, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs fans cheer before the game against the Auburn Tigers at Davis Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports
Road Test
I knew Auburn football was the better team going into this game, my only worry was how they would respond playing on the road for the first time.
Well, they passed that test with flying colors.
They set the tone early and took the Mississippi State crowd out of the game by going up 35-0 at halftime.
There were a lot of empty seats in the second half as the Bulldog faithful left early.
I don’t care who you’re playing, it’s difficult to go on the road in the SEC and win a ball game. This team proved to me that they are more than capable of winning on the road.
Oct 8, 2016; Starkville, MS, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs wide receiver Keith Mixon (23) runs the ball during a play that would end in a touchdown during the third quarter of the game against the Auburn Tigers at Davis Wade Stadium. Auburn won 38-14. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports
Second Half Lapse
After having their best half of football in recent memory, Auburn football seemed to fall asleep in the second half.
They were held without a touchdown in the second half, and were outscored 14-3.
I realize it’s hard to stay focused when you’re up 35-0 at halftime, but I would have loved to see these team put together a complete game and finish the blowout.
I really wanted our defense to pitch a shutout against an SEC team, but they played it safe in the second half and ended up allowing two touchdowns.
As beautiful as the first half was, the second half was equally as ugly.
Tre’ Williams
If you’ve been reading my articles this season you know how highly I’ve been praising middle linebacker Tre’ Williams.
However, I think this might have been his worst game of the season. On several occasions I saw him miss open field tackles and fail to make plays that he’s capable of making.
Now it’s hard to say that when he led the team in tackles with eight, but when he goes back and watches the tape I think he’ll be kicking himself because he could have had a monster game.
I think Tre’ – and our linebackers in general – were exposed a little bit in the passing game. Mississippi State was able to find some good match-ups against our linebackers in the second half to get the passing game going, much like Texas A&M did to us.
I still think Tre’ Williams is our best linebacker, but because of that I expect more out him.
Kerryon Johnson
More from Fly War Eagle
I was really looking forward to what Kerryon Johnson had in store for us against Mississippi State. In just three carries he had already racked up 21 yards.
It was supposed to be him who had the big game Saturday, possibly lifting him into the Heisman race, but instead an ankle injury kept him out of most of the game.
We saw him testing the ankle on the sideline, but because of Auburn’s big lead early – and the fact that Pettway was running the ball so well – they decided to rest Johnson.
This was really sad to me as I think Johnson could have gone for 200 yards against the Bulldogs. But it makes sense to rest him with the bye week coming up.
I fully expect Johnson to be ready for Arkansas in a couple of weeks, and hopefully he can make up for the lost yardage in this game.
War Eagle!
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