Fast start gets No. 3 Mississippi State past No. 2 Auburn, 38-23

Mississippi State Coach Dan Mullen grinned broadly as he walked off the field, pumping his fist with one arm while holding his daughter Breelyn in the other. The deafening roar of the crowd’s trademark cowbells showered the field and the players danced around in celebration.

The biggest home game in Mississippi State history had just turned into its biggest victory.

Dak Prescott ran for two touchdowns and threw for another to lead the No. 3 Bulldogs over No. 2 Auburn, 38-23, Saturday night.

Prescott completed 18 of 34 passes for 246 yards and had 121 yards rushing.

He had lots of help. Josh Robinson ran for 97 yards and two touchdowns, De’Runnya Wilson caught four passes for 72 yards, including a 34-yard touchdown catch, and the Bulldogs defense bailed out the offense with stops in the red zone after turnovers.

“Every time we needed to make a play, a guy stepped up and made a play,” Mullen said. “We always wondered how to take the next step in this league … that’s it.”

Mississippi State (6-0, 3-0 Southeastern Conference) has won nine consecutive games.

The Bulldogs took a 21-0 lead in the first nine minutes, helped by turnovers on Auburn’s first first two offensive plays, but the Tigers cut the deficit to 28-20 in the third quarter.

Auburn’s Nick Marshall threw for 209 yards and two touchdowns but had two passes intercepted. He had 100 yards rushing.

“We have to learn from this,” Coach Gus Malzahn said. “We had a similar setback to this last year. There are a lot of champions in that locker room. They are disappointed and they should be.”

Auburn (5-1, 2-1), the defending SEC champion, couldn’t overcome an awful start.

The Tigers’ first offensive play was a Marshall pass that was tipped at the line of scrimmage and intercepted by Jay Hughes. The second was a fumble by receiver D’haquille Williams that was recovered by Benardrick McKinney.

Mississippi State turned them both into touchdowns.

A few minutes later, Prescott rumbled into the end zone for a two-yard touchdown and the Bulldogs, who were playing host to their first game between top-five teams in school history, had a three-touchdown advantage.

But then it was Mississippi State’s turn to start committing turnovers, with four before halftime. The Bulldogs threw three interceptions, including one by Logan Cooke on a fake punt, and Jamoral Graham fumbled on a punt return.

Mississippi State’s defense did the job despite Auburn’s good field position. The Bulldogs held Auburn to two field goals before Marshall completed a nine-yard pass to Williams.

That quieted the cowbells for a few minutes, but they roared again late in the second quarter when Prescott ran for a 15-yard touchdown to put the Bulldogs ahead, 28-13.