The top four matchups for Auburn vs Mississippi State

Auburn football needs a rebound win badly.

The Tigers are off to their first 0-4 start in SEC play since the dreadful 3-9 season in 2012. The offense has been horrid, the defense has been holding on, and the staff seems to be trying to rally the troops for what should be a much easier back half of the 2023 slate.

Thankfully, there's a stretch of easier contests coming up before the end of the season against Alabama. The first game of the stretch is at home against Mississippi State, a team the Tigers have dominated in their all-time series.

However, both teams are really struggling to find their offense right now. Auburn has one of their worst offenses in over a decade. Mississippi State lost quarterback Will Rogers to injury and scraped by Arkansas 7-3 last weekend.

It's ugly for both teams right now... and that could create an even uglier game this weekend between the two schools.

Here are the top four matchups for this weekend.

Auburn’s running backs vs MSU’s defensive line

The Tigers' rushing attack has been at they have had on that side of the ball this season. The four-headed backfield led by Jarquez Hunter has proven to be effective.

State has an average rush defense (127.57 yards per game is 8th in the SEC). Auburn's only hope to move the ball offensively could come down to this matchup here.

Auburn’s pass rush vs MSU’s offensive line

Pass rush has been hard to come by for Auburn this season. Auburn is 8th in the conference in total sacks (16.0) and has only eight sacks through four SEC games. State is also average in this stat category (2.14 sacks allowed per game).

Not letting dual-threat QB Mike Wright extend plays on third-down will be crucial. The Bulldogs are right there at the bottom of the league with Auburn in third-down conversion percentage.

Special teams

Mississippi State is 10th in the SEC in punt return averaged allowed and 11th in field goal percentage (75%). The Tigers have yet to miss a field goal this season.

This may be the game that Alex McPherson, Brian Battie or Keionte Scott come up big for AU.

Auburn’s passing game vs itself

The Tigers are dead last in the SEC in passing yards per game, averaging just over 150 per contest.

That's probably not going to change for the rest of the season. However, if Auburn can somehow mange to figure out how to get their numbers over, say, 200 yards in this one vs MSU's secondary? That would be big for their chances of victory.

The top four matchups for Auburn vs Mississippi State

Auburn’s running backs vs MSU’s defensive line

Auburn’s pass rush vs MSU’s offensive line

Special teams

Auburn’s passing game vs itself

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