STARKVILLE — Mississippi State’s defense, after allowing an opening-drive touchdown for the second consecutive week, had settled into the rhythm of last Saturday night’s game against Kentucky.

In two possessions since that initial touchdown, the Bulldogs conceded just one first down each time and were notably clamping down on Ray Davis, who entered as the Southeastern Conference’s leading rusher. The Wildcats only extended their lead because of an interception returned for a touchdown by D’Eryk Jackson, and thus were ahead 14-3 when they took over on their own 37-yard line with just under five minutes remaining in the first half.

All of a sudden, Kentucky found life with its running game. Davis carried the ball on five straight snaps, bringing the ball to MSU’s 30, and then an end-around run by receiver Barion Brown brought the Wildcats inside the 10. From there, all it took was a quick pass from quarterback Devin Leary to receiver Dane Key on a slant route for Kentucky to further stretch the lead with less than a minute left until halftime.

The drive continued a highly worrisome trend for the Bulldogs (4-5, 1-5 SEC). Through nine games, MSU has given up a touchdown in the final minute of the first half six times, with five coming in the last six contests.

“You just look at the breakdowns when it happens,” defensive coordinator Matt Brock said. “The breakdowns are the same. Sometimes in two-minute (offense), there’s more tempo involved, but in today’s game, two-minute is a different scenario because everybody plays with tempo.”

Those touchdowns just before the half have occurred in all kinds of situations. Arizona, which had turned the ball over on each of its first four possessions, drove 77 yards in just 38 seconds, with Jayden de Laura heaving a bomb to Tetairoa McMillan for 55 yards and then scoring on a quarterback sneak. Two weeks later, South Carolina used a 13-play, 75-yard drive that took up nearly six and a half minutes, running the ball on 10 of those 13 plays.

Just like Arizona, Western Michigan used the final possession of the first half to find its flow. The Broncos had been stopped on fourth down twice and punted three times up to that point, but with a new quarterback in the game, third-stringer Hayden Wolff, they suddenly moved the ball with ease, scoring on a 14-play, 75-yard drive that lasted barely three minutes.

“We might start doing two-minute drills before practice and in practice,” linebacker and co-captain Nathaniel “Bookie” Watson said. “There really isn’t too much you can do to prepare for it. You just have to execute when you get the play call. We’ve continued to allow plays before halftime, and that’s on the defense.”

Head coach Zach Arnett talked at length after the Kentucky game about the importance of capitalizing in the red zone, and that goes for both sides of the ball. The Bulldogs have allowed at least some scoring 24 out of 26 times their opponents have crossed their 20, and 17 of those scores have been touchdowns.

Auburn’s end-of-half drive was perhaps the biggest backbreaker of them all, considering it followed a play in which MSU’s offense was stopped on fourth-and-1 with the Bulldogs already trailing by two touchdowns. The Tigers marched 68 yards in a remarkably efficient eight plays and 65 seconds, using just one timeout along the way, to all but put the game out of reach.

“It just comes down to executing and not being high and low, and doing things we need to do, whether it’s getting a call, whether it’s getting lined up, whether it’s having our eyes where we’re supposed to or tackling well,” Brock said. “Playing good defense is playing good defense, and playing bad defense is playing bad defense, whether it’s a two-minute drill or the first drive of the game.”