Auburn should be estatic.
Despite being outplayed for the majority of the first half, the Tigers trail by only four.
Auburn's offense has looked baffled, flustered and underprepared.
Sophomore Kiehl Frazier has looked uncomfortable in the pocket, going 1-for-7 on the half.
Frazier's lone completion was to tight end Philip Lutzenkirchen for a 2-yard loss.
"He's got to settle down," Chizik said going into halftime. "We've had some receivers that have been open."
Frazier completed more passes to Bulldogs' cornerback Johnthan Banks than his own receivers. Banks' two second-half interceptions give him 14 in his career, just six shy of the SEC career record.
Banks, who is tied for first in the NCAA in career pick-sixes, looked to have added one more, but his 42-yard return was called back when officials ruled he stepped out of bounds.
It's mistakes like these that have kept Auburn in this 7-3 game.
In the first drive of the game, State kicker Devon Bell missed a 36-yard field goal, pushing the ball wide left.
The Bulldogs committed 5 penalties for 48 yards, the majority coming at just the right moment to pull Auburn out of a seemingly perpetual hole.
But it's the Tigers' special teams that have given the squad a chance.
Sophomore kicker Cody Parkey sailed the football through the uprights, giving Auburn its first points of the game.
Parkey is 5-for-5 on the season and has made 11 of his last 13 field goal attempts.
Mississippi State tried to tack on to its lead late in the second quarter with a field goal, but defensive lineman Angelo Blackson was able to get a hand on it to keep the score 7-3 going into the half.
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