Mississippi State overcomes 25-point deficit at Auburn
AUBURN, Ala. — Will Rogers threw for 415 yards and six touchdowns as Mississippi State beat No. 16 Auburn 43-34 on Saturday, in the process adding to the logjam nature of the Southeastern Conference’s West Division this season.
Auburn (6-4, 3-3 SEC) scored touchdowns on its first four possessions and led 28-3 midway through the second quarter, but Mississippi State (6-4, 4-3) rallied by scoring 40 straight points behind Rogers’ arm.
“I think the biggest thing is that we didn’t get discouraged by the first half, which should have been easy to do,” Mississippi State coach Mike Leach said. “That first half, I thought we kind of played tentatively and played not to lose. Then we played aggressively. We played faster.”
Rogers completed 44 of 54 passes as 10 Bulldogs made at least one catch. Jaden Walley had seven for 87 yards, and Jakai Polk’s eight totaled 61 yards and included two touchdowns.
Mississippi State’s first three possessions produced just one field goal, but Rogers threw for his six touchdowns on the Bulldogs’ next seven series. He had only three incompletions after the first quarter.
Auburn’s offense got off to a strong start behind Bo Nix, who finished 27-of-41 for 377 yards with two touchdown passes. But as the defense struggled to slow Mississippi State’s passing attack after intermission, the Tigers were held to 158 yards and six points in the second half.
“We’re not going to make excuses,” Auburn coach Bryan Harsin said. “We’ve got to take this and learn from it.”
The rally from 25 points down for a win was the largest comeback in Mississippi State history. It also marked the biggest blown lead in a loss for Auburn.
› No. 3 Alabama 59, New Mexico State 3
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — For 44 seconds, mighty Alabama of the SEC was actually trailing one-win New Mexico State. It didn’t take long for the Crimson Tide to change that situation dramatically.
Down 3-0 late in the first quarter, Bryce Young threw a 50-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Jameson Williams. Alabama went on to romp from there as Young finished 21-of23 passing for 270 yards with five touchdowns, three to Williams, in just more than a half of action for Alabama (9-1).
The Tide rattled off seven touchdowns in 20 minutes for a 49-3 halftime lead over the Aggies (1-9). Alabama finished the game with a 587-138 advantage in total offense.
“I really challenged the team this week,” said Alabama coach Nick Saban, whose team was second in the most recent College Football Playoff rankings. “I told them it was kind of judgment day for us. We’ve been a little inconsistent. We don’t look at the scoreboard. It shouldn’t affect how we play. An opponent is faceless. It’s all about how we play.” Young became the first Alabama player to complete his first 13 passes in a game, playing only one drive into the second half when he lost a fumble in New Mexico State territory. The Aggies couldn’t keep up with the speedy Williams, who caught six passes for 158 yards and had touchdowns of 50, 32 and 7 yards. Brian Robinson Jr. ran for 99 yards and two touchdowns — including a 63-yarder — all in the first half.
› Florida 70, Samford 52
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida coach Dan Mullen celebrated the Gators’ shootout win against an opponent from the lower-tier Football Championship Subdivision like nothing was wrong.
He sang with his team, posed for pictures, shook hands with fans — and then made excuses for one of the worst defensive performances in school history. It was more surreal than the first-half numbers the Gators (5-5) put up against Samford (4-5) of the Southern Conference.
“Calling a win disappointing is disrespectful to the game and our players,” Mullen said.
Emory Jones accounted for 550 yards and seven touchdowns, delivering a career performance that may have — at least temporarily — saved Mullen’s job. Although the Gators ended a three-game skid, this win felt more like a loss than any outcome in Mullen’s four years in Gainesville.
Florida gave up a season-high 530 yards and its most points (42) ever in any half, and those defensive lapses came less than a week after Mullen fired defensive coordinator Todd Grantham and running game coordinator John Hevesy in the wake of a surprising drubbing at South Carolina.
Mullen’s future likely hinges on the Gators’ next two outings: at Missouri to close their SEC schedule and at home against nonconference rival Florida State.
› Missouri 31, South Carolina 28
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Tyler Badie rushed 34 times for 209 yards and a touchdown, and Missouri (5-5, 2-4) held off a fourth-quarter charge by the Gamecocks (5-5, 2-5).
The Tigers built a 17-point lead when Badie scored on a 19-yard run with 12:31 left in the game. The opportunistic Gamecocks then made things interesting by converting two Missouri turnovers into touchdowns and slicing the deficit to three points with 4:32 left. But the visitors never saw the ball again, thanks to Badie, who rushed for 63 yards on the final drive.
› Kentucky 34, Vanderbilt 17
NASHVILLE — Chris Rodriguez Jr. ran for 114 yards and a touchdown and Will Levis threw for two scores as the Wildcats (7-5, 3-3) used a fast start to beat Vanderbilt (2-8, 0-6).
Kentucky scored on its first four possessions as it ended a three-game losing streak. The Wildcats have won the past six series meetings with the Commodores, who have lost five games in a row overall and 19 straight against SEC opponents dating to 2019.
The Wildcats’ offense was shut down for most of the second half. Matt Ruffolo’s 32-yard field goal with 13:26 left in the game broke the drought.