Mississippi State vs. Auburn: The Big Preview

It's time for week three of The Big Preview -- as we take a look at an opponent that so many of us have grown to dislike recently (no particular reason): the Auburn Tigers. The Tigers, who are under the direction of first year head coach Gus Malzahn, have experienced a successful 2013 season in what they hope will be the start of the rejuvenation of their program after Gene Chizik left it burning by the wayside. The Tigers come into this Saturday's matchup with a 2-0 record, and one that is deceptively impressive. It was a pedestrian 2-0 until last Saturday when the team they defeated in the opening week, Washington State, defeated Lane Kiffin and the USC Trojans 10-7. Whether the Trojans are just that bad (they are) or Wazzou is better than advertised remains to be seen, but for the time being it makes Auburn's victory over the Cougs a bit more impressive. Are the Tigers for real? More importantly for State fans, was MSU's offensive success last weekend for real, or just a result of the competition? Lot's of questions for both teams will be answered this weekend, as Mississippi State and Auburn kick off their respective SEC seasons with a night game at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

In this week's The Big Preview, we take a good, thorough, and completely serious look at the Auburn Tigers by way of our Totally Serious Opponent Report, our traditional Game Preview, a Q&A with our Auburn SBNation brethren at College and Magnolia, and a little infographical stats breakdown. For those of you who are planning to make it to Saturday's game on the plains, we have a special edition of Road Dawgs included for you as well, with suggestions on where to eat, drink, and hopefully enjoy some post-win eats and suds.

Click any of the five links below to scroll directly to the section that you're looking for (each section also features a button at the end to take you back to the top of the page):

Totally Serious Opponent Report by James Carskadon

Game Preview -- Mississippi State vs. Auburn by JLgrindin

Road Dawgs -- Auburn by Metal Building Dawg

Q&A with SBNation Auburn Blog College and Magnolia with Chris Fuhrmeister

Let's Get Statistical by cristilmethod

Auburn, much like Mississippi State, is a perfectly nice land-grant institution. So nice, in fact, that Cam Newton took his Heisman-winning talent to The Plains for nothing more than a scholarship and the chance to make a better man of himself through academics and athletics. But much has changed since Auburn won all the Tostitos at the end of the 2010 season.

The Tigers digressed to eight wins in 2011 before bottoming out at three wins in 2012 and firing head coach Gene Chizik. Auburn then hired Gus Malzahn, the offensive coordinator of that 2010 championship team. Because leaving for Arkansas State just in time to avoid the 2012 debacle means Chizik's former right-hand man is in no way responsible for the state of the program and deserves the head job.

After two expected wins to open the season, it's still way too early to tell if Malzahn is the right man for the job. He's certainly not the first offensive coordinator to go from coaching a transcendent talent to head coach of an SEC football team. The Tigers handled Arkansas State fairly easily on Saturday, which has the Auburn fan base cautiously optimistic going into the showdown against MSU. Auburn currently owns a 10-game conference losing streak, and that seems like the type of thing teams would like to break, especially against opponents they are favored by a touchdown against.

LET'S HOPE SPIRIT THE EAGLE IS IN GAME SHAPE

The last time MSU played at Auburn, there was an unfortunate incident with Spirit, Auburn's war eagle that buzzes the stadium before every kickoff. It's one of the cooler traditions in sports, which is why it was so disappointing to see Spirit completely off his game before that 2011 kickoff, flying into the glass of a Jordan-Hare Stadium luxury suite. Was it a substance or alcohol abuse problem that had Spirit flying into windows before an 11 a.m. kickoff? The world may never know, but here's to a healthy eagle that is in good spirits, without the help of liquid spirits.

Notable Auburn facts

• Current Apple CEO Tim Cook got his undergrad from Auburn, which helps explain why both Auburn and Apple's relevance peaked in 2010. Though there is hope that the two new iPhones announced this week may be what it takes to end Alabama's reign atop the BCS. When reached for comment on allegations of SEC football-related conspiracies surrounding the new iPhones, Siri responded, "War damn eagle."
• Reigning Miss America Mallory Hagan, from nearby Opelika, Alabama, was once an Auburn student before moving to New York. Hagan technically won the famous pageant while representing the state of New York, but in SEC country it still counts as another championship for the state of Alabama.
• Charles Barkley played basketball at Auburn. His insight is usually profound. Take this quote on DMX, for example: "I know why his name is DMX. Because his real name is Earl. Imagine if his name was Earl the rapper."
• The poisoning of Toomer's Oaks was an inside job.¹
• Jimmy Wales, a co-founder of Wikipedia, graduated from Auburn. This means all Auburn undergraduates have permission to cite Wikipedia in term papers, according to Wikipedia.

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Last week, I spent the whole preview telling you guys about MSU and how the game was all about the Bulldogs. It was, and like I mentioned last week, if talk after that game was about Alcorn State, then that was bad news. So, naturally, the good news is that there has been zero mention of the Braves since Saturday before the game, and even then it was sparse. MSU got the win in addition to the mention, which was great news for those in maroon and white.

However, not all news is good news this week leading up to MSU’s SEC opener against Auburn. There is still a question amongst the MSU contingent about who should be the quarterback for MSU on Saturday. While Tyler Russell will get the start, he is coming off of a concussion against Oklahoma State in week 1, and if the offense stalls out with him, Dan Mullen could turn to the better fit for the MSU offense: Dak Prescott.

The good news for MSU is that no matter which QB plays the majority of the snaps on Saturday, the Auburn defense is really bad. They have shown an ability to create turnovers, as they have four in the first two games (three picks, one fumble recovery), but that's about the only positive you could attribute to them. While the Tiger D only gave up nine points to Arkansas State last week, they did give up 24 to Washington State, who only scored 10 on a very thin USC Trojan defense in week two. So, the MSU offense should continue to further improve and distance itself from the poor offensive performance in week one. The receivers are getting better for State each week, and the backfield found a new weapon against Alcorn State last weekend in freshman running back Ashton Shumpert.

On the other side of the ball, the Tigers have shown themselves to be very capable running the football so far this season. They are averaging just under 300 yards per game and have a very athletic quarterback in Nick Marshall, who likes to run first. Their running back, Tre Mason, is one of the conference’s best, so MSU will need a big performance from their front seven to keep the talented Mason in check. That doesn’t seem all too unlikely, as the linebacking unit appears to be very good this season for State, and the defensive line continues to improve.

The MSU secondary should be able to come down in the box and help with the run as well, as the Tigers are not much of a threat through the air. While Marshall possesses a huge arm, the Tigers lack a deep threat at wide receiver, and Marshall has proven to be an inconsistent passer early on, completing just over 50% of his passes against inferior defenses.

While the offenses can both be very explosive, neither has shown much this season (MSU did it against an Alcorn defense that was not very good at all). I think this game will be a shootout of sorts, maybe a 30-something to 20-something type of shootout, with neither defense really stopping the other’s offense. I do think both defenses will use turnovers to halt drives, but I do expect lots of up and down for both offenses. While Auburn has just two turnovers on the season, they have coughed up the football five times. If they continue to do so on Saturday, I expect the MSU defense to make the best of the opportunity, and make Auburn pay more than they have so far for their miscues.

On the flip side, MSU has thrown three interceptions this season, and up against an Auburn defense that will be looking for the turnover, especially through the air, I expect the Bulldogs to turn it over at some point on Saturday. While I think the Bulldogs are the superior team, they will be playing in a tough environment on Saturday. I really feel this game comes down to who can protect the football best. I think both teams will turn it over some, but the winner will almost assuredly have fewer turnovers at the end of the day.

Mississippi State Injury Report

Doubtful

Ferlando Bohanna (Head)

Probable

Tyler Russell (Head), LaDarius Perkins, Nickoe Whitley, Jamerson Love (Ankle)

Out for Season

Jay Hughes (Achilles), Justin Malone (Foot)

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Are you making the trip to Auburn this weekend for the game? Well, have no fear, I've got you covered with all the info you need while on the plains. As you might have surmised from my post yesterday, I've been to Auburn A LOT. But unfortunately I won't be making the game this year - the first time since 1995; so I'll need to live vicariously though the FWtCT reader by providing these tips.

MSU Alumni tailgate: Woodruff Drive between South Donahue South College Street. It starts at 2:30. Here's a map of the Auburn campus.

You may want to get your picture taken in front of Samford Hall.

Toomer's Corner is gone, but you can still go visit Toomer's Drug Store.

Be prepared to walk a lot. Auburn has really made their campus into a series of quads that doesn't allow you to park very close. But by doing that things are more spread out than they used to be. You may want to head to the stadium a little early and cool off in their new Union building before heading in. I know they've got some TVs in there to watch the Bama/A&M game.

I've got two brothers who attended school at Auburn. One of them is currently enrolled and the other lives in town currently. So I went straight to the horse's mouth to get their selections on the best places to eat and their favorite dish. Here are their top 5:

1. Amsterdam Cafe - Crab cake sandwich (I've had it, it's really good - they make a special sauce)
2. Mamma Goldberg's Deli - Mamma's Love sandwich and Mamma's Famous Nachos (there are a bunch of these in Auburn)
3. Mike and Ed's BBQ - Pulled pork sandwich
4. Hamilton's - "everything is good but it's expensive", which might explain why my brother who is still in college has never been there, but says he's heard good things
5. Niffer's - Corn nugget appetizer is a must; they have a wide variety of hamburgers (there are two of them in Auburn)
6. BONUS (from Chris at College & Magnolia): The Hound - really good American fare and drink selection; and if you're in town for breakfast on Sunday go there for the "Redneck Benedict".