It’s very likely that Auburn football has seen its last ranking in the College Football Playoff committee’s Top 25 after the collapse of the century (literally) against Mississippi State at Jordan-Hare Stadium this past Saturday.
Arguably the worst loss of the season for the Tigers, that 11 A.M. affair–that has been mired in controversy due to fan energy or, more aptly, a lack thereof in the stadium after halftime–boosted the Bulldogs into the CFP 25 once again after their loss to Arkansas a week prior knocked them out.
At #25, the Bulldogs have a severely remote possibility of winning the SEC West, but they’d need Alabama to lose to Arkansas and in the Iron Bowl. That’s easier said than done considering the lack of Bo Nix for Auburn football and the 18-year winning drought for the Razorbacks at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Of course, Mississippi State football would also have to win their next two games, which is well within reason. This weekend the Bulldogs host the Tennessee State Tigers of FCS’ Ohio Valley Conference, and then they head down over to Oxford for a Thanksgiving Day Egg Bowl against Ole Miss. They won’t be favored against the Rebels, but ask those who took the -5.5 Auburn football spread this past Saturday what that means for their matchup.
Ultimately, the win over AU makes this season a successful one for Mississippi State. They took down Texas A&M, stunned Kentucky, and then had one of the most spectacular road wins of the season on the Plains down by 25 at one point.
An Egg Bowl victory would be a cherry on top and put the Bulldogs in the mix for a New Year’s Six bowl. Even if they don’t win out, though, Leach’s coaching tenure would still surpass Joe Moorhead’s with a bowl win.
Quite the different narrative than we expected to be discussing heading into this past Saturday…