STARKVILLE, Miss. — Auburn beat Mississippi State 41-9 on Saturday in Starkville, scoring touchdowns on the ground and through the air while its defense kept the Bulldogs out of the end zone after the first half.
Keshaun Singleton caught a 26-yard scoring pass to put the Tigers on the board, and Alex McPherson tacked on a field goal for a 10-0 lead after one quarter. Mississippi State’s lone touchdown, a 34-yard pass early in the second quarter, made it 10-7.
Auburn answered with short touchdown runs by quarterback Byrum Brown and running back Jeremiah Cobb, then added another McPherson field goal to lead 27-7 at halftime. Brown hit Chas Nimrod for a 35-yard score and found Singleton again from 42 yards out in the third quarter, pushing the margin to 41-7.
The Bulldogs reached the Auburn 2-yard line early in the fourth quarter but were stopped on fourth down. Their only points after halftime came on a safety, and a late drive to the Auburn 3 also ended on downs. Auburn’s defense also forced fumbles and picked off a pass.
Brown completed 19 of 26 throws for 232 yards. Cobb ran for 50 yards on 10 carries to lead all rushers.
The result marked a sixth straight loss for Mississippi State, now 4-6 on the season and 2-6 against SEC opponents. The Bulldogs fumbled five times and lost four of those, and three quarterbacks — AJ Swann, Billy Puckett and Brodie McWhorter — took snaps. Anthony Evans III led Mississippi State with four catches for 89 yards. Two early field-goal tries also failed, one on a bad snap and another when Kyle Ferrie missed from 33 yards.
Auburn locked up bowl eligibility with the win. The Tigers host Samford next week before the Iron Bowl against Alabama on Thanksgiving. Mississippi State still has three games left and needs two wins to become bowl eligible.
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