The Auburn Tigers picked up their first SEC win on Saturday, defeating the Mississippi State Bulldogs 27-13 at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Head coach Hugh Freeze picked up his first SEC win in his tenure at Auburn, and the Tigers move to 4-4 on the season with four games left to play.
“This was a big win for us with the remaining stretch we have and going on the road for the next two weeks,” Freeze said. “It had the feeling for me as a critical game, and I thought our kids and staff responded well to it.”
The first half was big for the Tigers, and their impressive first half performance was a significant contributor to their victory over the Bulldogs.
Auburn’s offense, led by starting quarterback Payton Thorne, started the game with tempo and a balance of passing and running– a scheme not seen much in the Tigers’ offensive performances this season. On the opening drive and eighth play of the game, Thorne completed a 28-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Shane Hooks who wrestled his way into the end zone, giving Auburn a quick 7-0 lead over Mississippi State.
“I couldn’t see if (Hooks) caught the ball or not. He wasn’t wide open,” Thorne said. “So I was just hoping he would come down with it. Scoring there is a plus, and it’s a credit to Shane and the work he has put in.”
Thorne’s first drive touchdown pass was one of three he would total on Saturday night – all of which came in the first half of the contest– and his first game with three touchdowns this season.
In the first half alone, Thorne went 15-for-20, picking up 192 passing yards. Adding to the Tigers dominant first half performance was running back Jarquez Hunter. Hunter totaled 144 yards rushing on 14 attempts and two receptions for 26 yards throughout the game.
“It was a rough start [to the season],” Hunter said. “I had to get back in a groove and get back momentum. But this second half of the season is gonna be better because I try to get better at practice, and when I practice hard I play hard.”
Auburn totaled 186 yards rushing, 109 of which came in the first half of the game, and 230 yards passing, 192 of which also came in the first half. Offensively, the second half of the game was much slower for the Tigers, partly due to adjustments from the Bulldog defense and partly due to struggles in the Tigers’ passing game.
“(Mississippi State) overloaded the run game,” Hunter said. “In the second half, they tried to overload and stop us from running.”
The Tigers ran for 77 yards in the second half and threw for only 38 yards. Despite only throwing for 38 yards in the second half, Thorne went 5-for-5 on passes, and the Tigers’ lack of offensive yardage was largely due to being on the field less in the second half.
Less time on the field for the Auburn offense gave Mississippi State more chances to even out the score in the second half, but the Tiger defense kept the Bulldogs to one field goal and one touchdown in the last half of the matchup, securing Auburn’s first SEC win of the season.
“I hope this win gives us a lot of confidence and maybe a little bit of swagger,” Freeze said. “Confidence is a huge factor and key in playing on the road, and hopefully we got that today.”
The Tigers travel to Nashville, Tennessee, next Saturday to take on the Vanderbilt Commodores. Kickoff is at 3 p.m. CST and will be televised on SEC Network.
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Grace Heim is a junior from Enterprise, Alabama, majoring in English Literature. She started with The Plainsman in January 2023.
