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Auburn Football vs. Miss. St.: 5 Keys to Victory for Auburn

By Jake Mastroianni

Oct 1, 2016; Auburn, AL, USA; Auburn Tigers head coach Gus Malzahn leads his team through Tiger Walk before the game between the Auburn Tigers and the UL-Monroe Warhawks at Jordan Hare Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Reed-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 1, 2016; Auburn, AL, USA; Auburn Tigers head coach Gus Malzahn leads his team through Tiger Walk before the game between the Auburn Tigers and the UL-Monroe Warhawks at Jordan Hare Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Reed-USA TODAY Sports /
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Here we take a look at five things to watch out for as Auburn football takes on Mississippi State on the road today at 11 a.m. CT on ESPN.

Auburn football is getting ready for its first road game of the year as they travel to Starkville, Miss. to take on the 2-2 Bulldogs.

The Tigers’ offense has looked very good against Sun Belt teams, but we’ve yet to see them play well against a power five team.

Today Auburn has an opportunity to prove to itself and the fans that they are amongst the best in the SEC.

With that, let’s take a look at five keys to this game for Auburn in order to win.

Auburn Running Game

Auburn football has clearly established itself as a running football team as they lead the SEC with an average of 269.8 rushing yards per game this season.

The duo of Kerryon Johnson and Kamryn Pettway are quickly becoming the best running back tandem in the SEC.

Sean White has also done a better job this year of tucking the ball and running when his first and second looks aren’t open. When he does this it’s nearly impossible to stop Auburn.

Pettway wisely sat out against Louisiana Monroe while dealing with a minor calf injury. He should be fully ready to go against Mississippi State. He’s averaging 6.5 yards per carry this year, so it’s important that Pettway establish himself in this game.

Mississippi State is giving up just 110.8 yards per game on the ground this season. However, they gave up 191 yards rushing to LSU.

If Auburn can rush for over 200 yards in this game I think we win pretty easily.

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Red-Zone Opportunities

The reason Auburn lost to Mississippi State last year is simple, they couldn’t score touchdowns in the red-zone.

Last year Auburn led the game in total yards with 389, and had seven more first downs than Mississippi State. However, they reached the red-zone four times and came away with points only twice – both field goals.

This is not an explosive offense with Sean White at quarterback, but he’s more than capable of moving the ball down the field.

If Auburn is going to defeat Mississippi State today, they need to come away with at least two touchdowns inside the red-zone.

Getting an Early Lead

Mississippi State is coming off a bye and is playing in front of their home crowd for the first time since September 10, so they’ll be loud and ready for this game.

It’s always important to get an early, but it’s especially important for Auburn because of the reasons mentioned above. You can’t allow that Mississippi State fanbase to get loud since we have a lot of young guys playing in their first road game.

If Auburn can come out and put some points on the board early to take this crowd out of the game, I think it helps ours guys relax on the way to victory.

Time of Possession

This is not usually a category you would keep an eye on when Gus Malzahn’s offense is running smoothly, but things have changed.

With Auburn’s new style of offense that is going to nickel-and-dime you down football field, time of possession becomes a key stat.

In their win over LSU, Auburn dominated the time of possession, which kept LSU’s offense off the field and gave our defense time to rest.

Last year we dominated the time of possession against the Bulldogs holding the ball for 36 minutes and 10 seconds, while Mississippi State had the ball just 23 minutes and 50 seconds.

If Auburn can repeat those number this year I think we win this game as our defense is much better than it was last year and will hold them to 10 points or less if that’s the case.

Gus Malzahn Hat Choice

A lot has been made about the hat switch that Gus Malzahn made after their loss to Texas A&M. Since going from the visor to a full ball cap, the Tigers are 2-0.

You have to think that Malzahn doesn’t switch up the routine on the road this weekend and go back to the visor.

Next: Auburn Football vs. Mississippi State: Matchup and Prediction

If Malzahn has a hat on this morning I think that will give Auburn an edge in this game to pull out the victory on the road against Mississippi State.

War Eagle.

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