STARKVILLE, Miss. – Playing in its first true road environment all season, No. 8 Auburn never could find its rhythm Saturday night as the Tigers came up short at Mississippi State, 23-9.
"Obviously, an extremely tough loss," Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said. "Any time you go on the road in this league and you play a good opponent, you can't do the things that we did.
"In a game like this when you have opportunities, you have to seize the moment. Our kids played hard and fought their butt off, and I'm proud of them. But with the mistakes, we've got to coach them better. We've got to do a better job, and that starts with me."
Auburn struck first midway through the first quarter when Anders Carlson drilled a 47-yard field goal. The freshman made three of his four field-goal attempts on the night, and his 24-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter got the Tigers within a touchdown at 16-9.
However, with two minutes remaining, Mississippi State quarterback Nick Fitzgerald all but put the game away with a 21-yard touchdown to make it a two-score game.
The Auburn defense was led by safety Jeremiah Dinson, who had a career night with 15 tackles and also pulled down an interception for the second straight game. He's the first player since Joshua Holsey in 2016 to record interceptions in back-to-back games, and his 15 tackles are the most by an Auburn player since Daren Bates (16) against Ole Miss in 2012.
Marlon Davidson, Darrell Williams and Deshaun Davis all finished with 10 tackles apiece. It was a career high for Davidson, who also blocked a critical field goal midway through the fourth quarter that gave the Tigers a chance to come back and tie the game.
"I'm real proud of our team from the standpoint that our defense blocked a field goal and gave us a chance to go down and score," Malzahn said. "I think we got to the 30-yard line and couldn't do it. So we had an opportunity. We didn't seize the moment."
For Davis, it was his seventh career game with double-figure tackles, and he now has 203 career tackles – making him the 15th Auburn player since 2000 to reach 200 career tackles.
On offense, quarterback Jarrett Stidham went 19 of 38 for 214 yards with no interceptions. His favorite target was senior wide Ryan Davis, who caught a game-high eight passes for 91 yards. He's now fourth among Auburn career receiving leaders with 137 career receptions, passing Tyrone Goodson (136 from 1993-97). Fellow receiver Darius Slayton added four catches for 58 yards.
The rushing attack was paced by freshman JaTarvious Whitlow, who ran eight times for 88 yards. He nearly scored a touchdown late in the third quarter, but the refs said he fumbled the ball as he reached it across the goal line after a 41-yard run. It was one of two Auburn fumbles on the night.
After the game, Malzahn's message to the team was simple and honest.
"Our back's against the wall like it was last year at this time," the sixth-year head coach said. "We've got to do the same thing we did last year. We have to play better. We have to coach them better. We'll get back to Auburn, and tomorrow we'll turn the page. We have to solve some of our issues."
"The one thing I do know about this team is that we're really resilient," added Stidham. "I think last year was a good testament to that. This year, we've got a lot of great guys on this team and a lot of guys that love just to fight. They're going to scratch and claw their way out. We're going to find a way to get better."
Auburn will return home next week to face Tennessee at 11 a.m. CT on SEC Network.
Auburn at Mississippi State game notes
- Captains: Deshaun Davis, Ryan Davis, Jarrett Stidham
- Coin Toss: Mississippi State wins the toss and defers. Auburn will receive
- Attendance: 60,635
TEAM NOTES
- First-time starters for Auburn: Calvin Ashley
- Auburn scored first for the 21st time in its last 24 games and the fifth time this season
INDIVIDUAL NOTES/OFFENSE
- Tucker Brown recorded his first career reception
- John Samuel Shenker's 26-yard reception was a career long
- JaTarvious Whitlow is now 15th all-time among Auburn freshman rushers with 414 yards this season; tonight he has passed Kiehl Frazier (327 in 2011), Ronnie Brown (330 in 2001), Brad Lester (339 in 2005), Markeith Cooper (351 in 1996), Darrell Williams (371 in 1989) and Ben Tate (392 in 2006)
- Ryan Davis is now fourth among Auburn career receiving leaders with 137 career receptions, passing Tyrone Goodson (136 from 1993-97). Davis ranks 19th in Auburn career receiving yardage (1,261), passing Greg Taylor (1,217 from 1987-90) and Thomas Bailey (1,243 from 1991-94)
- Ryan Davis' 42-yard reception in the third quarter was his longest catch of the season
- Jarrett Stidham to Ryan Davis is the second most productive pass tandem in Auburn history, with 113 completions; the Auburn record is 140 completions by Pat Sullivan to Terry Beasley (1969-71)
- Stidham recorded his third 200-yard passing game of the season and the 13th of his Auburn career
INDIVIDUAL NOTES/DEFENSE
- Jeremiah Dinson records his second interception of the season and career. It's the first Auburn player with interceptions in back-to-back games since Joshua Holsey in 2016 vs. Ole Miss and Vanderbilt
- Deshaun Davis now has 203 career tackles, making him the 15th Auburn player since 2000 to reach 200 career tackles; he recorded his seventh career game with double-figure tackles
- Marlon Davidson recorded a career high with 10 tackles
- Jeremiah Dinson recorded a career high with 15 tackles, the most by an Auburn player since Daren Bates (16) vs. Ole Miss in 2012
- Darrell Williams recorded his second career game with double-figure tackles
INDIVIDUAL NOTES/SPECIAL TEAMS
- Marlon Davidson records his first blocked field goal, the first for Auburn since Derrick Brown blocked a UCF field goal attempt in last year's Peach Bowl
- Anders Carlson's 47-yard field goal was his second longest of the season (longest: 53 vs. Washington). This was his second game with three made field goals (also Washington)