Dominating Win Over Auburn Positive Building Block For Mississippi State
By Kyle Kensing
Sept 1, 2012; Starkville, MS, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs quarterback Tyler Russell (17) prepares to hand the ball off during the game between the Mississippi State Bulldogs and the Jackson State Tigers at Davis Wade Stadium. Mississippi State Bulldogs defeated the Jackson State Tigers 56-9. Mandatory Credit: Spruce DerdenCredit: Debby Wong-US PRESSWIRE
A dominating second half elevated Mississippi State to just its third win over Auburn since 2000, and gives Dan Mullen a positive building for his Bulldogs in the arduous SEC West. Meanwhile, Gene Chizik faces an 0-2 hole to the 2012 season with a treacherous schedule featuring LSU, Arkansas and Alabama still ahead.
MSU and AU are programs whose seasons past each on opposite directions of the proverbial escalator. In seasons past, the Bulldogs would have lost this game. MSU overpowered the Tiger offense, but the Bulldogs were stagnant offensively in the first half. An Ontario McCalebb kick return for touchdown to start the second half reversed the momentum of a game MSU was controlling, which was the kind of moment that would have doomed recent MSU teams.
But Mullen and his staff regrouped. After two straight near-misses against the Tigers, the Bulldogs were certain to leave no window for opportunity. The defense overwhelmed Kiehl Frazier, and the loss of Michael Dyer could not have been any more apparent without slapping viewers in the face. MSU held AU without an offensive touchdown and limited the Tigers to just 216 total yards.
Tyler Russell played a brilliant second half, leading three scoring drives after the intermission. He was 20-29 with three touchdowns and 224 yards, for one week silencing his critics. Mullen came to Starkville with a track record for cultivating quarterbacks, helping develop Alex Smith, molding Chris Leak into a championship leader and mentoring some young man named Tebow. But at MSU, he has lacked that standout play maker.
Chris Relf showed signs of developing into that at the end of the Bulldogs’ 2010, but was ineffective last season before Russell took over. Today, Russell looked like the kind of quarterback Mullen coached in the past.
Russell’s play complemented the effective ball carrying of Derrick Milton and La’Darius Perkins, who both carried for more than five yards per attempt. Put it all together, and often-maligned Mississippi State looks like a threat in the deep SEC West.
As for Auburn, an 0-2 start leaves Chizik and company in an unenviable position. The tables are turned from a season ago, when the Tiger defense could not muster any support when the offense was firing. AU has yet to surrender 30 points against two good teams, but cannot reach 20 points in its own right. MSU and Clemson were two of the less impressive 2011 defenses on the Tigers’ 2012 schedule.