Auburn and Mississippi State have both slipped from lofty positions they held earlier in the season.
As the Tigers (5-4, 3-4 Southeastern Conference) and Bulldogs (4-5, 2-5) prepare to meet Saturday in Starkville, Miss., both are merely hoping to get bowl-eligible as the regular season winds down.
Auburn was 4-2 after upsetting No. 1 Georgia 27-24 on the road, then lost consecutive games against LSU and Ole Miss in lopsided fashion before edging visiting Arkansas last week. A win Saturday would give the Tigers bowl eligibility with two games remaining in coach Alex Golesh’s first season.
“This is November football in the SEC,” Golesh said. “We’ve got to continue to improve. Really good football teams continue to find ways to get better and they continue to find ways to go win.
“Continuing to get better means fundamentally, detail, blocking, tackling, getting off blocks and tackling on the perimeter. We have to be able to eliminate explosive plays defensively through high-level effort and tackling when you’ve got to go tackle.”
The Tigers are last in the SEC in total defense (401.9 yards allowed per game), but it’s uncertain how well the Bulldogs will be able to take advantage of that. Mississippi State has managed only 281.8 yards per game the past four games in the absence of star quarterback Kamario Taylor, who is out for the season due to a leg injury.
Mississippi State started the season 4-0 and rose to No. 16 in the AP poll but has lost five straight since after Taylor was first hobbled.
After Parker Puckett relieved Taylor in two games and made one start, AJ Swann started the past two games. He has completed 68.6% of his passes for 175.5 yards per game with two touchdowns and one interception.
“The early-down efficiency has to get better,” coach Jeff Lebby said. “That is as a group. That’s certainly the quarterback position. That’s the tight end position, that’s the receiver position.
“It’s going to start with me, and I’ve got to put these guys in positions every single day of the week to give them a chance to have the best possible outcome.”
On the other side of the ball, Mississippi State will focus on containing dual-threat Auburn quarterback Byrum Brown, who had a season-high 121 rushing yards against Arkansas to go with 180 passing yards and three total touchdowns.
On the season, Brown has thrown for 11 TDs and run for eight.