No. 2 Auburn Travels to No. 3 Mississippi State in the Game of the Week

No. 2 Auburn Tigers (-2.5, 63 o/u) at No. 3 Mississippi State

Being in the driver’s seat in the SEC is something new for the Auburn Tigers (5-0, 2-0 SEC) and head coach, Gus Malzahn; but that’s exactly where his squad sits after last Saturday’s massacre of top ten teams. If the Tigers are going to stay at the head of the pack, they’re going to have to do it the hard way, as Auburn travels to Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville to face No. 3 ranked Mississippi State team (5-0, 2-0 SEC).

Despite Auburn’s success this season on defense – they are ranked in the top three for scoring, total defense, and run defense – defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson knows this week is different facing Heisman hopeful (dare we say front-runner?) Dak Prescott.

Said Johnson, “We’re going to be playing a quarterback who may be the best in the country at running the offense he runs. It’s going to be a whole different deal. He’s a veteran. He had about eight starts last year and he’s playing really well this year and we’re going to be playing at their place instead of our place.

“I’m certainly not taking anything away from the effort and the accomplishment of our players. I think we did a great job and I’m really proud of them, but the test is going to get a lot tougher.”

After starting out the 2013 season 4-6, Mississippi State head coach Dan Mullen has led his team to eight straight wins behind the highly athletic Prescott. The 6’2″ Junior has passed for 1,232 yards, 13 TDs, and two picks. He’s also added 455 yards and six TDs on the ground.

Said Mullen, “I still think he’s getting better every single day.”

As tempting as it is to take the home dog here, the smarter play – considering the tough defenses – may be the under, as 63 is a big number to cover.