In what was a dominating win at a pivotal crossroads for the Auburn Tigers, Jordan-Hare Stadium gave Auburn 35 yards in its win over Mississippi State Saturday night.
“Our crowd was unbelievable,” head coach Gus Malzahn said. “They were a big part of our success tonight.”
The No. 24 Bulldogs had seven false start penalties in their 49-10 loss to No. 13 Auburn. Auburn running back Kerryon Johnson rushed for 122 yards and three touchdowns on 23 carries. Johnson has a combined eight touchdowns in his last two games.
Johnson’s 59-yard rush on Auburn’s opening drive was more yards than he had in Auburn’s 51-14 win over Missouri, a game where Johnson had five touchdowns. He later capitalized on his big gain with a one-yard rush up the middle to give Auburn a lead that would not be broken.
“The fact that he’s not 100 percent says a lot about him,” Coach Gus Malzahn said. “I was proud of [Johnson] and the job he did, especially on the goal line. There were a couple of tough runs that he found a way and willed himself to get in the end zone.”
Stidham completed 13 of his 16 pass attempts for 264 yards and two touchdowns. Stidham continued his strong efficient play following two successful weeks and has completed 58 of his last 70 pass attempts (83.4 percent).
“That’s one of my goals every week, is to have a perfect completion game,” Stidham said. “Obviously, it doesn’t work out like that, but I try to get it as close as possible every week of the season.”
Stidham’s 261.1 quarterback rating is the highest for Auburn since Cam Newton in 2010.
Early in the third quarter, Stidham completed a 57-yard pass out of Auburn’s end zone to wide receiver Eli Stove en route to completing a seven-play, 99-yard drive that lasted just three minutes and 20 seconds.
“That was a big factor in the game,” Malzahn said. “After that drive that they scored a touchdown on, everything was a little bit easier. Take a deep breath right there. That was a big-time throw, a big-time catch and good protection and a big-time call.”
Stove had two receptions for a game-high 75 yards with one rush for 30 yards. Auburn wide receiver Ryan Davis had a game-high six receptions for 32 yards and a touchdown.
On Auburn’s first possession of the second half, Stidham completed a 47-yard touchdown pass to Will Hastings to pad Auburn’s lead to 18. An interception returned for a touchdown by Javaris Davis, and later a 67-yard touchdown run by quarterback Malik Willis, padded Auburn’s final lead to 39.
In addition to its 39-point victory, Auburn is the only school in the FBS who has yet to allow an opponent to score 14 points or more this season. With just 11 pass breakups in the first four games, Auburn had 12 in the win.
“Our secondary was unbelievable,” Malzahn said. “Very good at clamping people down in man coverage and making them earn it. They got some receivers that are pretty good, too, so I think they had a very good night.”
Mississippi State quarterback Nick Fitzgerald, who led all quarterbacks in touchdowns since Oct. 29 of last season, was held to 157 yards passing and 56 yards rushing. Fitzgerald threw two interceptions with a touchdown close to the end of the first half, completing just 13 of his 33 pass attempts.
“I think we’re gelling at the right time,” Stidham said. “The first two or three games we weren’t all there. Especially the last two weeks, we’ve put up a full game on all three phases.”
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