Auburn @ Mississippi State preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 12, 2009 ) Mississippi State 24, Auburn 49

Auburn quarterback Cameron Newton probably should expect an unusually rude reception when the 1-0 Tigers visit the 1-0 Mississippi State Bulldogs in Starkville Thursday night.

Newton, who amassed more than 350 yards of total offense and five touchdowns in his dazzling Tigers debut, chose Auburn over Mississippi State for his final two years of college football, passing up a reunion with his former offensive coordinator at Florida, Bulldogs coach Dan Mullen. Newton left Florida following a 2008 arrest and won a junior college national championship before enrolling at Auburn.

After that decision, Newton’s father made an unfortunate remark to the Montgomery (Ala.) Advertiser: “He’d have to do everything himself [at Mississippi State],” Cecil Newton said. “I didn’t want him to be a rented mule.”

Fast forward to what should be an entertaining matchup Thursday.

Both teams displayed potent offenses in their opening-game wins. The Tigers, under second-year coach Gene Chizik, outscored Arkansas State 52-26. The Bulldogs, under their second-year coach Mullen, manhandled Memphis 49-7. It was the Bulldogs’ biggest margin of victory since 1998, the year Mississippi State made its only SEC Championship Game appearance.

While Newton is the undisputed focal point at Auburn, Mississippi State uses a two-quarterback system with Chris Relf and Tyler Russell. A heralded redshirt freshman, Russell hit 13-of-16 throws for 256 yards and four touchdowns against Memphis.

These Bulldogs are far more pass-oriented than last year, when they rode running back Anthony Dixon, who’s now in the NFL. Mullen has assembled a dangerous receiving corps. Three Bulldogs had at least 91 receiving yards and a touchdown last week.

That doesn’t bode well for the Tigers, who gave up 323 passing yards to Arkansas State.

For two schools trying to climb the ladder of the SEC West, which includes defending national champ Alabama and two other more talented teams in LSU and Arkansas, it's hard to overstate the importance of this game. The loser will find it almost impossible to finish over .500 in conference play.

In Starkville, fans excited by Mullen's first year (5-7, including three road wins) bought season tickets in record numbers. Their Bulldogs are only slight underdogs, so the team has obviously earned some respect nationwide. A win would help validate Mullen’s regime.

This is the seventh straight year Auburn has opened SEC play against Mississippi State. The Tigers have won five of the previous six, including 49-24 last year in Auburn. Auburn is 6-2 all-time on Thursday night.