STARKVILLE — Window dressing.
That’s how Mississippi State football defensive coordinator Peter Sirmon describes the Auburn offense. Watching film of the Tigers, Sirmon said he has seen a lot of formations and has watched Auburn use guys in motion and make shifts in an attempt to confuse defenses.
Sirmon likened the window dressing to cars passing by when asked why it is so effective and how it distracts defenses.
“It’s hard not to stare at cars driving by,” Sirmon said. “You’ve got cars driving by you and in front of you and you’re looking at the offensive linemen and they put the ball out and the quarterback spins around.”
Sirmon doesn’t want his players to be concerned about the window dressing and fall victim to looking at the wrong things. It has been a priority in practice this week as MSU (2-2, 1-1 Southeastern Conference)
prepares for its game against Auburn (3-2, 1-1) at 11 a.m. Saturday (SEC Network) at Davis Wade Stadium.
Sirmon, who is in his first year as coordinator at MSU, has a young defense filled with first-year players getting significant playing time. Sirmon said he and his coaching staff have tried to simplify their calls and have stressed the importance of not getting caught up in the motions and shifts to young players who will play Auburn for the first time.
“You try to do the best you can controlling some of the calls and ultimately trying to control the eyes,” Sirmon said. “Sometimes certain calls we make can help minimize some of the distractions.
“And then just do as good of a job as we can in the film room, trying to simplify it, and give them confidence in what they’re seeing and have them believe what they’re seeing.”
The Tigers are averaging 488.6 yards and 31.2 points per game. The Tigers lead the SEC with 269.8 yards rushing per game. Sophomore running back Kerryon Johnson is third in the league with 517 yards on 102 carries and six touchdowns.
Auburn coach Gus Malzahn turned over the offensive play calling duties to offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee two weeks ago before an 18-13 victory against LSU two weeks ago. Last week, Johnson had 24 carries for 146 yards and two touchdowns, and Sean White was 14 of 17 for 239 yards and one touchdown in a 58-7 victory against Louisiana-Monroe at Jordan Hare Stadium in Auburn, Alabama. The Tigers had 36 first downs, 410 net yards rushing, and 688 total yards.”
Sirmon said he is impressed with how Auburn puts players in the right position and how those players execute the game plan.
MSU senior linebacker Richie Brown remembers playing Auburn for the first time a 24-20 loss in 2013 at Auburn. Brown, who had four tackles and a sack in that game, said the Bulldogs will you have to sit still, let everything unfold, and wait until they get to the end to see what they are going to do with the play.
“For the younger guys, it’s going to be a little shaky at first,” Brown said. “They’re going to see a lot of motion and lot of flying colors. We’re just trying to keep that tempo in practice and get them used to it.
“Once you get it, you calm down, you relax and you know what you have to do, then you can kind of settle down and play some good football.”
Brown leads the Bulldogs with 28 tackles (two-and-a-half for loss), one sack, and a quarterback hurry. The MSU defense is allowing 356.2 yards per game (110.8 rushing, 245.5 passing).
Although Auburn will try to use different formations, shifts, and motions to confuse MSU, Sirmon said it’s all about who has the ball in the end. That should be MSU’s focus.
“It goes back to the first day of football on defense. Most kids up to this level when they get here have done one thing: look at the guy with the ball and chase the guy with the ball,” Sirmon said.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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