Auburn routs Mississippi State 41-9 to become bowl eligible

STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) Auburn recovered four fumbles that led to 24 points and earned bowl eligibility for the first time in three years in a 41-9 win over Mississippi State on Saturday.

“It’s huge in the sense that we get to continue to practice,” Auburn coach Alex Golesh said. “But it’s certainly not the standard at Auburn. The standard is that you compete for championships.”

State had positive momentum after Auburn (6-4, 4-4 Southeastern Conference) missed a 47-yard field goal midway through the second quarter and gave the Bulldogs (4-6, 2-6) the ball back down three. However, four plays later, A.J. Swann was strip-sacked and the ball was returned by Darrion Smith to the 1. Byrum Brown scored on Auburn’s next play to make it 17-7.

The strip sack was one of three by the Tigers.

“Between the turnovers, the sacks, the key was going to be to affect the quarterback and there were multiple quarterbacks, and I thought we affected them in a big way,” Golesh said of his defense. “They did a really, really good job.”

Auburn made 13 tackles for loss that took away 74 yards to go with seven sacks.

Billy Puckett, in for an injured Swann, was the victim of Auburn’s third strip sack on the third play of State’s next drive. The Tigers recovered at the State 21 and went ahead 24-7 four plays later.

Kolin Wilson coughed up the ball with less than two minutes left before halftime, which gave the Tigers good enough field position to tack on a field goal before the break.

“Offensively, not taking care of the football, and giving these guys short fields was a recipe for disaster,” Mississippi State coach Jeff Lebby said. “And that’s exactly what happened.”

The dagger was delivered with 9:23 left in the third. Brown tossed one up 34 yards to Chas Nimrod, who jumped over a defender in the end zone and held onto it for the score. Keshaun Singleton added insurance with a 42-yard grab at the 5:52 mark to make it 41-7.

“I thought Byrum got into a rhythm and he did a good job. I thought we tried to affect them when we would run the ball,” Golesh said. “We certainly got to what we felt like we were comfortable with, but I thought we threw it around pretty well. The explosives there were big. The touchdowns.”

Brown went 19 for 26 (73%) for 232 yards and three touchdowns to go with 39 yards and a score on 15 carries. Singleton had 103 yards and two scores on seven catches while Jeremiah Cobb had 10 carries for 50 yards with a touchdown.

Mississippi State played three different quarterbacks, which also included true freshman Brodie McWhorter.

Auburn’s first strip sack of Swann put it at Mississippi State’s 38-yard line early in the first quarter. Facing pressure three plays later, Byrum Brown found Singleton for a 26-yard touchdown.

The Bulldogs drove deep into Tiger territory on their next drive, but Kyle Ferrie missed a field goal. Auburn responded with one of its own to make it 10-0 with 1:44 left in the opening quarter. State, however, found life when Swann found Sanfrisco Magee for a 34-yard score on the first play of the second.

Auburn: The Tiger defense caused havoc and created opportunities that the offense cashed in on.

Mississippi State: The Bulldogs’ offensive line could not hold up under pressure and most scoring opportunities they did have were squandered.

Auburn hosts Samford next Saturday.

Mississippi State hosts Tennessee Tech next Saturday. ---

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