Mississippi State need not look far into the past for evidence of both how rowdy Auburn’s Jordan-Hare Stadium can be and how quickly such a crowd can turn from raucous to funereal.
The last time the Bulldogs visited Auburn, on a sun-splashed day in mid-November 2021, they fell behind by 25 points in the second quarter in front of more than 87,000 blue- and orange-clad fans. But Mike Leach’s team was unfazed. Led by a hyper-efficient outing from then-sophomore quarterback Will Rogers, MSU reeled off 40 unanswered points to not just defeat the No. 16 Tigers, but beat them by two scores, 43-34.
Rogers completed 44 of 55 passes as he operated the Air Raid offense to perfection, throwing for 415 yards and six touchdowns without an interception. None of his touchdown passes went for more than six yards.
It was not only the largest comeback victory in Bulldogs history, but also the largest lead Auburn had ever blown in a loss. The Tigers’ win probability, per ESPN Analytics, reached as high as 98.5%.
“I remember we didn’t play particularly well the entire first half. We stunk it up,” said Zach Arnett this week, who at the time was MSU’s defensive coordinator. “Fortunately at halftime, something flipped. We made a couple plays on both sides of the ball and it flipped the momentum. It was a great comeback victory.”
The comeback began in earnest near the end of the second quarter after the Bulldogs put together their first touchdown drive of the day to cut their deficit to 28-10. The Tigers were poised to answer with their fifth touchdown in as many possessions as quarterback Bo Nix and the Auburn offense reached the MSU 30-yard line.
But Nathan Pickering sacked Nix for an eight-yard loss on first down, and back-to-back incompletions forced Tigers coach Bryan Harsin to send out his outstanding kicker, Anders Carlson, who was unable to connect on a 55-yard field goal attempt with 12 seconds left in the first half. That turn of events gave the Bulldogs momentum going into the locker room, and they seized it further upon starting the second half with the ball.
“We couldn’t have started any slower or finished any better,” said defensive coordinator Matt Brock, who coached MSU’s special teams in 2021. “We had that touchdown going in at the end of the second quarter, and that swung the momentum. We carried it over and we made a couple plays on all sides of the ball.”
Rogers led the offense to two more touchdowns in the third quarter, and with the Bulldogs trailing 28-23, Cameron Young blocked a Carlson 35-yard field goal attempt, setting the stage for MSU to take its first lead of the game early in the fourth.
The game was a crowning achievement for Leach and the Air Raid, as well as for Rogers, who completed 17 passes in a row in the second half. Both teams look completely different just two years later, but the memory is still fresh in the minds of the Bulldogs’ veteran players and the assistant coaches who are holdovers from the Leach era.
“It was just one of those deals where when it started unraveling for them, it just kept building for us,” Brock said. “It was a huge win.”
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 28 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 28 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
Join the Discussion