Miss State upsets #8 Auburn

After coming up short against former Head Coach Dan Mullen and the Florida Gators, the Mississippi State Bulldogs got back on the good foot, pulling off the upset against number 8 ranked Auburn Tigers Saturday.

With a 23-9 victory over the Tigers, the Bulldogs climb back into the top 25 rankings, sitting at number 24 in the country. Mississippi State’s defense held Auburn to three field goals, keeping the Tigers offense on halt while recovering two fumbles.

The victory snapped a two game losing streak and puts the Bulldogs fourth in the SEC West behind Texas A&M, LSU, and Alabama.  Head Coach Joe Moorhead said, “Awesome job, getting a win over a top ten opponent. That’s a great squad like Auburn and Coach Malzahn, very well coached. We put the ball in the hands of our playmakers, made some timely plays in the pass game, but ultimately it’s about production and points and we were able to do that.”

After a bye week, the Bulldogs have another chance to climb the SEC West with a battle against LSU in Death Valley.

Speaking of production, due to his performance against Auburn, senior quarterback Nick Fitzgerald earned SEC Offensive Player of the Week recognition.

Although he was 9 for 17, throwing for 69 yards, it was his rushing attack that led the Bulldogs to pull off the upset in Starkville.  Fitzgerald rushed for 195 yards and two touchdowns, averaging seven yards per attempt including the 21 yard scamper into the end zone to put the Bulldogs up by two scores.

Head Coach Joe Moorhead allowed his QB to carry the workload with a career high 28 carries.

With his performance, Fitzgerald became the SEC’s career leader in quarterback rushing yards, taking the number one slot from Tim Tebow.