State-Auburn preview from the Auburn paper

[DawgatAuburn]

They do these previews once a week leading up to the season. Here's the State preview from last week. I suspect there will be some parts you don't agree with. Like about how they should have won last year, and how Mullen needs to win a bowl game, among others.

http://www.oanow.com/sports/college...cle_cfa3dae0-e26e-11e2-afdf-0019bb30f31a.html

Posted: Monday, July 1, 2013 11:53 am | Updated: 1:49 pm, Mon Jul 1, 2013.

Ryan Wood
Opelika-Auburn News
Twitter
There is any number of reasonable guesses for when the wheels officially fell off in Auburn’s dismal 2012 season, but no one questions when the downfall began to show on the field.
The Tigers five-turnover performance last fall at Mississippi State led to a loss in a game they should have won, regardless of the 28-10 final score. Quarterback Kiehl Frazier appeared to lose all confidence, tossing three interceptions with two fumbles and negative yardage in the first half.
Auburn will have another critical, early-season matchup against Mississippi State on Sept. 14 at Jordan-Hare Stadium. It will be the Tigers third straight home game, as well as their SEC opener.
These two teams have developed a nice rivalry in recent years. From Cam Newton picking Auburn over Mississippi State, to former coach Gene Chizik lamenting the following firestorm of allegations as something that “started as a Mississippi State problem,” the foundation has been laid for intense matchups each season.
On the field, this rivalry hasn’t disappointed. To the Tigers winning a 3-2 slugfest in 2008 to safety Ryan Smith’s game-winning, fourth-down tackle on the goal line, there have been some classics in this rivalry. With a new coach in place for Auburn, we’ll see if Gus Malzahn vs. Dan Mullen can make even more memories.
Opponent bio
Team: Mississippi State
Coach: Dan Mullen (fifth season; 29-22, 13-19 SEC)
Returning starters: 14 (7 offense, 6 defense, 1 special teams)
2012 record: 8-5, 4-4 SEC; fourth place SEC
Bowling: Lost 34-20 to Northwestern in Gator Bowl
Scoring offense: 29.5 points per game (61st nationally)
Scoring defense: 23.3 points allowed per game (34th)
Series: Auburn leads 57-26-3
Last meeting: Onterio McCalebb returned the second half’s opening kickoff for a touchdown, giving Auburn a three-point lead after a disastrous first half. It wouldn’t last. Mississippi State scored the game’s final 21 points, and Auburn would fall to 0-2 for the first time under Gene Chizik. It would be one of many unflattering firsts that season.
Golden Nugget line: Auburn is a one-point underdog
Three things to know about Mississippi State

1. More work left for Mullen: In four seasons, Mullen has won the hearts of Mississippi State fans, becoming the program’s biggest winner in decades. No longer the doormat for the SEC West, the Bulldogs were .500 in conference play last season for the second time in three years. But 2012 had a disappointing end. Mississippi State entered its matchup against top-ranked Alabama with a 7-0 record, lost 38-7 and ultimately fell apart. The Bulldogs lost five of their final six games, highlighted by a bowl game disappointment. With Mullen taking the program to the middle of the SEC, fans will soon want to see if he can carry Mississippi State football to the next level – a bowl victory and winning SEC record.
2. No love for the spread: A large part of Mississippi State’s late-season collapse last season was an inability to defend spread offenses. Against Texas A&M (38), Ole Miss (41) and Northwestern (34), the Bulldogs gave up 37.6 points per game. Even in Malzahn’s scheme, no one is comparing this Auburn offense to any of those three teams. Still, Malzahn’s up-tempo attack could present a troubling matchup.
3. Face of the program: With all due respect to Mullen, senior quarterback Tyler Russell will be the most important Bulldog this fall. After a breakout 2012 season – Russell had 2,897 passing yards with 24 touchdowns and 10 interceptions – Mississippi State will only go as far as the quarterback takes it. Good thing for the Bulldogs, they have one of the SEC’s best.

 

[57stratdawg]

The Tigers five-turnover performance last fall at Mississippi State led to a loss in a game they should have won, regardless of the 28-10 final score.

This is BS. We could have played them 3 straight games, I don't think they would have scored an offensive TD against us. As a MSU fan, I've seen some bad offenses take SEC fields in the past, but Auburn, on that day, was as bad as I can ever recall a team being.

I agree with his numbered points in general, but I would say that MSU needs to play better on the road and against top 25 teams moreso than a bowl win. Just my opinion.

 

[patdog]

We almost doubled them in total offense in that game, and we had a pretty average day offensively. He'll be saying Auburn "should have won" the game this fall too.

 

[57stratdawg]

We almost doubled them in total offense in that game, and we had a pretty average day offensively. He'll be saying Auburn "should have won" the game this fall too.

Alot of that was in garbage time as well. Going into the 4th quarter we were up 21-10 and Auburn had 80 total yards of offense. He's just playing to an audiance, but it's still ****.

 

[J-Dawg]

Returning starters: 14 (7 offense, 6 defense, 1 special teams)

People see these "low" returning numbers and just assume we are losing alot. We only lost 3 full time starters on offense (WR's), and only one of those had any real impact. I guess they count losing Tobias Smith as the 4th starter lost, even though Malone had as much or more time working with the first team. I can't remember how many times Tobias pulled the start but was subbed out in the 1st half.

Defense number is low, technically, but we all know if you watched us long enough, you know these paper stats don't really do it justice. Lose 2 technical starters on the DL (Boyd and Cherrington) even though Virges and PJ Jones have starting experience as well. The fact that we have 4 better options than Cherrington going for the DT spot, do we really lose that much? Obviously, losing Lawrence is a big gap at the LB spot, even though Matt Wells returns starting experience. Can't justify that, though. At DB, you can't justify losing the 3 full-time starters we did, even though Jay Hughes returns starting experience.

Just goes to show sometimes the numbers can be misleading, especially to outside writers who just pull up our roster from last year and go off paper. I can find a few instances where it is justifiable that they should count another person as a returning starter (Malone) and I can justify even more examples as to where we lose on paper, but nothing irreplaceable from a production standpoint (2 out of 3 WR's, couple DL, etc.)

 

[Hump4Hoops]

In the 4th quarter, we could have played "name that score" if we wanted.

 

[jakldawg]

On the field, this rivalry hasn’t disappointed. To the Tigers winning a 3-2 slugfest in 2008

You know, there are plenty of stories out there containing contradictory sentences. Most don't pair them up directly like this.

 

[Shamoan]

auburn should have won? what game did that guy watch? they were lucky the score wasnt 42-10. they had 216 total yards....im still trying to wrap my mind around that statement and the homerism necessary to even fathom printing such words for the world to see....then again, west georgia has always been known for their crazies.