Mississippi State no longer an easy out

This isn’t your older brother’s Mississippi State.

The Bulldogs are coming off one of their best seasons in recent memory, playing in — and winning — their first bowl game since 2000, beating UCF in the Liberty Bowl, 10-3.

Sylvester Croom, in his fifth season in Starkville, has steadily build up his program to become a contender in the SEC West.

After three consecutive years of just three total wins in each season, Croom and the Bulldogs went 8-5 last season, proving that the coach and the program is on the right path.

“He’s a lot better,” Auburn head coach Tommy Tuberville said of Croom. “He has done things the right way. He’s worked hard at it and got good assistants. He’s got a disciplined program, and he’s had to make a lot of changes within the team, as we all have had to do over the years when you are starting a new program.

“As I said last year, he’s done it the right way. He’s worked hard and got people who are going to lay it on the line for him. And that’s all you can ask.”

Mississippi State comes into today’s 6 p.m. game on ESPN2 (Channel 29 in Lee County) with a 1-1 record, while the Tigers are ranked 9th in the country and sport a 2-0 record.

Last year, the Bulldogs surprised the Tigers at Jordan-Hare Stadium with a 19-14 win. And that game is fresh in the minds of the Auburn players and coaches as the series heads back to Starkville.

And Auburn’s not taking it lightly this time.

“They’ve got a pretty good team,” AU senior wideout Robert Dunn said. “That’s pretty much with any team in the SEC. We’re coming into another game where we’re not underestimating them. We’re going to act like we’re playing the No. 1 team in the country right now.”

Of course, the Bulldogs are far from being ranked tops in the nation. But that still doesn’t matter to Auburn, coaches say.

They know, especially with this being the first SEC game of the season for both teams, nothing’s going to be easy.

“This is the first game in the SEC,” Tuberville said. “They work all year long knowing that they’ve got eight opportunities each year to have the best chance to get to Atlanta. It starts with this one on the road. And last year brings back a little incentive.”

Mississippi State’s is paced by a physical running game, led by the talented tandem of Anthony Dixon and Christian Ducre. Dixon is seventh in the SEC in rushing, averaging 85.5 yards per game.

Sophomore quarterback Wesley Carroll has been better this year, as the Bulldogs have tried to throw the ball a little more than last season. His favorite target is Brandon McRae, who leads the conference with six catches per game.

And, of course, when you’re talking about Mississippi State and a Croom-coached team, you’ve got to mention the defense. The Bulldogs are ranked 17th nationally in total defense, giving up just 417 total yards (208.5 per game).

“They’re very aggressive,” Auburn offensive coordinator Tony Franklin said of MSU’s defense. “Very physical. Very fast. Very well coached — one of the best-coached teams I’ve seen. They do a great job. It’ll be very challenging. It’ll be a good ballgame.”

And what else would you expect? This isn’t the Mississippi State of old.

Just ask Tuberville, who’s played the Bulldogs for the past 13 years in a row, going 8-5.

“They’ve got good players,” Tuberville said. “They’ve recruited good players and they play very hard. They are well coached and you know what you are going to get.

“This is a different Mississippi State program than what we played three or four years ago.”

mszvetitz@oanow.com | 737-2513