The Auburn Tigers and the Mississippi State Bulldogs meet up Saturday evening in an early season SEC West matchup that could feature two intriguing freshmen quarterbacks.
If Mississippi State’s Joe Moorhead was intent on solely building for the future of his program, he’d turn over the keys to true freshman quarterback Garrett Shrader and refuse to ever check the rearview mirror as the Bulldogs hit the road to take on the Auburn Tigers.
In Shrader’s first start of his career, the young quarterback looked the part of a dual-threat, SEC caliber starter and notched a notable win as he filled in for an injured Tommy Stevens. Shrader completed 77.3 percent of his passes for 180 yards against a pick and ran for 125 yards to lead MSU to a 28-13 win over Kentucky.
Now, Shrader and Mississippi State head to Auburn, where another offense is clicking with yet another young quarterback.
Gus Malzahn has put all of his trust in Bo Nix to run the Auburn Tigers offense, and so far, things are running pretty well. Nix hasn’t been remarkable or explosive through the air, but he’s been fairly efficient, throwing for 645 yards and five touchdowns. Nix was good enough to help lead a neutral site comeback against Oregon in Arlington and managed Auburn’s offense well enough against the Aggies, but he hasn’t been electrifying in bigger games. And so far, the young quarterback is completing just 53.8 percent of his passes.
But, as Mississippi State turns to running back Kylin Hill (91 rushes for 551 yards and five touchdowns) to do much of the heavy lifting on offense, Auburn relies largely on running back JaTarvious Whitlow (82 carries for 408 yards and four touchdowns). Hill and Whitlow have been guiding their respective teams to victory and deserve as much credit as can be given to them.
How to bet on and watch Mississippi State vs. Auburn
- Date: Saturday, Sept. 28
- Start Time: 6 p.m. CT
- Location: Auburn, Alabama
- Stadium: Jordan-Hare Stadium
- TV Info: ESPN
- Odds: Auburn -10
- Over/Under: 46.5
- Live Stream: WatchESPN
Prediction
At the time of writing this, it’s not totally clear which quarterback Moorhead and Mississippi State will turn to against the Tigers. There’s a chance that Stevens will get the starting nod and, if he’s healthy, that might give the Bulldogs their best shot at winning on the road against Auburn. Stevens is a bit more seasoned, is a bit older, and has a more full grasp on Moorhead’s offense. The playbook would likely be a bit more open and Mississippi State might take a few more shots down the field.
But there’s no guarantee that Stevens is healthy. And even if he is, the Bulldogs will be meeting one of the better defenses in the Southeastern Conference on Saturday night. Auburn is holding foes to 316.8 total yards per game and has really locked down running backs, limiting opponents to 89.5 rushing yards per game.
If Stevens is still dinged up and unable to start, Auburn’s defense will have a shot at nullifying Shrader as he is forced to learn to cope with a hostile environment. The Tigers may not get an inspiring performance from their quarterback, but a strong rushing attack and a dominant defense might be enough to beat the Bulldogs.
Score: Auburn 27, Mississippi State 17