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A spirit that is not afraid

Players to watch, keys to victory versus Mississippi State

<p>Auburn takes the field before a game against Ole Miss on Oct. 30, 2021, from Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, AL, USA.</p>

Auburn takes the field before a game against Ole Miss on Oct. 30, 2021, from Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, AL, USA.

After a disappointing loss last week against Texas A&M on the road, the Auburn Tigers look to redeem themselves at home this Saturday against the 5-4 Mississippi State Bulldogs. This is a big game for both teams, as they both are coming off disappointing losses in which each were favored to win.

The Bulldogs lost a tough one against Arkansas, right after they had gained momentum defeating the Kentucky Wildcats. It has been a season full of ups and downs for Mississippi State, as it has lost to teams such as Memphis, LSU, Alabama and Arkansas, but also have conference wins against Kentucky, Vanderbilt and Texas A&M. 

Here are some players to watch out for and keys to victory for both teams.

Auburn

Demetris Robertson (WR)

The senior transfer from Georgia has brought a lot of help to the wide receiver squad. He has had 27 receptions and a total of 377 receiving yards along with three touchdowns this season. 

Robertson is one of those guys, along with Tank Bigsby and Shaun Shivers, that seem to be a key factor in leading this offense. Auburn has struggled with the deep ball a lot this season and Robertson is there to make those special plays when the game is on the line.

Tank Bigsby (RB)

The sophomore running back is no doubt one of the most dynamic running backs in the conference, as he is ranked fourth in the Southeastern Conference in rushing yardage with 735 yards and seven touchdowns on the year. 

He can be sent up the middle on crucial third-and-short plays. Bigsby was SEC Freshman of the Year, First Team Freshman All-SEC last season and his talent is no different this season. He is one of the biggest game changers on Auburn’s team.

Colby Wooden (DE)

The sophomore defensive end is currently leading the defensive line in tackles, with 40 on the year. He also has three sacks and two deflected passes.

Last season, Wooden made the SEC All-Freshman Team. Wooden was a huge factor in helping Auburn defeat Ole Miss and Arkansas, named SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week after both games. Wooden gained a lot of respect from the SEC after he had five tackles, four solo stops and a sack against Ole Miss.

Mississippi State

Makai Polk (WR)

This redshirt sophomore Polk, who is a transfer from California, has become the talk of the receivers at Mississippi State. Polk currently leads the SEC in receptions, as he now has 71 receptions for 720 yards receiving and six touchdowns. Polk had a huge performance last week against Arkansas, where he had 117 yards receiving.

He has gotten better every week and not only has he improved, but he has really sparked some momentum in this Mississippi State offense in recent weeks. This is only Polk’s first season at Mississippi State but he leads this offense like a veteran.

Will Rogers (QB)

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The sophomore quarterback has been playing like his hair is on fire, lately as he will be trying to complete his eighth game straight of passing for 300 yards. Rogers has completed 75% of his passes as well as completing 18 passing touchdowns. 

Like Bo Nix, Rogers is a big dual threat quarterback who has had an up and down season. Although Rogers really been improving over the past few weeks and is playing lights out, he struggled with an injury against Alabama earlier in the season which made his team worried that he might not be back for a while. Will Rogers was able to come back and has played unbelievably well these past few weeks.

Martin Emerson (CB)

The junior cornerback, is one of Mississippi State’s main leaders on the defense with 41 tackles on the year and he is the No. 7 ranked cornerback in the country. Emerson also finished last season ranked No. 11 in forced incompletions. He is very good at stopping the run game, and he also leads his team in tackles which is very rare to see a cornerback leading. 

Most of the time whenever you see the cornerback leading the team in tackles you don’t think of that being a very good sign, but in this case with the way that Emerson stops the run game, he is really something special to Mississippi State’s secondary.

Keys to Victory

Auburn

There must be some improvement on the offensive line. Bo Nix did not have his best performance last week, but at the same time it was hard for him to really do anything with the run or the pass because he had no protection. 

The receivers have got to find better ways to get open more. It is nice to throw down field but they also have to call more short passes. Auburn does not have to try to get huge yardage every single play. It would help if they ran more slant routes.

Although special plays are what everybody likes, Auburn cannot rely on just special plays to win the game. It would help to run more hurry up offense and include more trick plays. Anders Carlson must be perfect all game because this matchup could very well be a low-scoring affair. 

If the run game is not there then that could be trouble for Auburn. The defensive front and secondary both need to get after Rogers and Polk early in the game. That is important for Auburn because they have got to realize that both of those guys will come in with a chip on their shoulder with the way they have been performing lately.

Mississippi State

Rogers must be playing the way he has been especially with the wild Jordan-Hare atmosphere that he is about to face. Mississippi State has got to shut down Auburn’s run game early and cover guys like Robertson and Shedrick Jackson. 

With this game possibly being a low-scoring affair they better have the kicking situation figured out especially with them being on the road. It is obvious that Mike Leach does not like to kick very often, but if they go for it too many times then they could make the mistake Lane Kiffin made against Auburn. If their kicker does not have a decent performance then that could be serious trouble for Mississippi State. 

They need to look at film and notice how much Auburn’s defensive line has improved throughout the season and be ready for that. Be ready for Auburn’s secondary as well because they can tend to surprise many teams. 

 


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