A month ago, Auburn was on every college football preview show in the nation. They were picked to win the SEC, they were ranked No. 6 in the country, and they had a glut of talent they were supposed to run the table with.
Until they didn't.
After Auburn's 17-9 loss to Mississippi State, the Tigers have come crashing back to earth. But, strangely enough, that might be a good thing.
"I feel like we did need this as a reality check," running back Peyton Barber said. "To let us know we're not as good as we thought we were."
Auburn (2-2, 0-2) was on the cusp of breaking through, but they couldn't get out of their own way in the red zone, collecting just six points--on two Daniel Carlson field goals--in four trips inside the 20-yard line.
The first came on Auburn's first drive, when quarterback Sean White--who made his first start of his career Saturday night--stared down Marcus Davis and threw an interception at the goal line.
The second occurred when an errant snap on 3rd and goal from Mississippi State's 1-yard line was mishandled by White, who fell on it back at the 8-yard line.
Two more times the Tigers couldn't convert, and in all likelihood scoring a touchdown on even two out of the four trips inside the red zone would've resulted in an Auburn win.
"They don't feel good right now, obviously," Malzahn said. "We had some opportunities and we didn't get it done. They were a good team, but we had opportunities."
On the other hand, the defense, which had been much maligned all season, turned in a solid performance.
They held Mississippi State to 326 total yards, the first time Auburn has held a conference opponent to under 400 yards since its 41-7 win over LSU in 2014.
"We played better against the run," cornerback Blake Countess said. "We didn't do so well against the pass, but we took a step forward."
Bulldog quarterback Dak Prescott was efficient through the air, throwing two touchdowns, but he was corralled on the ground, as was the rest of the Mississippi State rushing attack.
Auburn outgained the Bulldogs 201-56 in that area, led by Peyton Barber, who racked up his third 100-yard game of the season. He finished with 137 yards on 27 carries, but he came up short on a few rushes near the goal line that would've given Auburn the lead.
White finished with 188 yards on 20-28 passing, and he showed off his wheels on a couple of occasions.
But despite White's efficient game, he couldn't lead the offense to convert in the area it needed to the most. Even with the shortcomings Auburn has faced these past two games, though, the Tigers aren't raising the white flag.
"Nobody has quit, I'll tell you that right now," White said. "Nobody has quit on this season or anything like that."
Whether they quit or not, Auburn still has eight games left to turn the season around. They'll get a nonconference game next week against San Jose State and a bye week after that, but a Thursday night game in Lexington against Kentucky looms only a few short weeks away.
If they can pull out a win there, they have a chance to get back on track.
If they don't, though, a long season on the Plains will get even longer.
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