STARKVILLE — Mississippi State football coach Dan Mullen said his team is back in the Southeastern Conference Western Division race after beating Auburn 17-9 Saturday night.
MSU lost to LSU 21-19 in week two in its SEC opener at Davis Wade Stadium. MSU had a chance to win, but Devon Bell missed a 52-yard field goal in the final seconds.
In a game MSU needed to keep its SEC Championship hopes alive, the Bulldogs received a solid effort from their defense and a strong effort from senior quarterback Dak Prescott (29 of 41 for 270 yards). The victory helped MSU (3-1, 1-1 SEC) climb back into the national rankings (No. 21 in The Associated Press poll; No. 22 Amway Coaches poll).
MSU will try to earn another huge road victory when it takes on No. 14 Texas A&M (4-0, 1-0) at 6 p.m. Saturday (SEC Network).
“It’s where you want to be,” Mullen said. “We’re about a play or two away from being 2-0, and we’re a play or two away from being 0-2. That’s this league. You’ve got to find a way. When you have an opportunity to win games, you got to win them.”
MSU rebounded from the loss to LSU with a solid week of practice. It then exploded for a 62-13 victory against Northwestern State last week. The Bulldogs had a school-record 647 yards of offense in the victory. That performance carried over to last week, as the Bulldogs “strained” in practice.
“We have a lot of confidence,” MSU junior wide receiver De’Runnya Wilson said. “We don’t want to peak, but we know what kind of team we have.”
Wilson had five catches for 43 yards and a 17-yard touchdown against Auburn. He laid out in front of a defender for the touchdown that put the Bulldogs ahead 14-0 midway through the second quarter.
There are only three undefeated teams in the SEC West (Ole Miss 2-0, Texas A&M 1-0, and LSU 2-0). Alabama and Arkansas are 0-1, while Auburn is 0-2.
Texas A&M beat Arkansas 28-21 in overtime Saturday in Arlington, Texas.
Prescott backed up an effort against Northwestern State in which he became the school’s all-time leading passer with a two-touchdown effort against Auburn that allowed him to take the game over.
“We’re in the position we wanted to be in, and we still got everybody in front of us to go win,” Prescott said.
Prescott is 95 of 142 for 1,069 yards and seven touchdowns this season. He has throw 191-straight passes without an interception, the longest active streak in the SEC, and the sixth-longest streak in SEC history, dating back to last season. It also is the nation’s longest active streak.
On defense, MSU didn’t allow a touchdown, and surrendered two field goals in four red-zone attempts for Auburn.
Last season, MSU won its first six SEC games before going to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, in early November with a chance to wrap up the SEC West. The Bulldogs lost, but still had a chance in the last regular-season game against Ole Miss. But the MSU lost and Alabama went on to win the division and the SEC Championship.
The victory against Auburn might have rejuvenated MSU, but it showed some players what they thought all along.
“We never really felt like we were out of it,” MSU junior linebacker Richie Brown said. “That was our mind-set. We’re ready for the next game and excited about it.”
Brown led the Bulldogs with 13 tackles (12 solos) against Auburn. He also had two sacks. Through four games, the Long Beach native leads the team with 39 tackles (4.5 for loss) and three sacks. He also has an interception and a pass defended.
Last season, the Bulldogs defeated the Aggies 48-31 in Starkville. Since Texas A&M joined the SEC 2012, MSU has won one game against the Aggies. The Aggies won the first two meetings between the teams as SEC foes.
“We’re going to have an even tougher game next week in Texas A&M on the road,” Mullen 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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