Dan Mullen is on the hot seat as he leads the Mississippi State Bulldogs down to face first-year head coach Gus Malzahn and the Auburn Tigers. The two coaches have three national championship rings between them as offensive coordinators for other teams. Running the spread offense, this could end up being a shoot out.
Malzahn and Mullen have faced each other in the past. Malzahn was a coordinator at Auburn while Mullen was a new head coach at Mississippi State. He was also involved in the allegations that coaches paid Cam Newton to possibly sign with their school. Those were eventually ruled untrue.
The Bulldogs got their first win against Auburn last season, but this year will be different with Malzahn as the head coach. He is known to be an offensive mastermind that will test the unproven Mississippi State defense.
Auburn is the favorite in the matchup, but the defense has struggled in the first two weeks. If they can contain the quarterback and stick with a solid pass rush, they will fare pretty well in the game. Auburn will likely lean on their run game, looking to run the ball more than 80 plays. The team has thrown only 39 passes this season and that unbalanced offense could haunt the Tigers.
Mississippi State quarterback Tyler Russell is a dual-threat. He is going to look to get out of the pocket and get on the run against the Tigers' defense. Dee Ford will be a big key to game as he attempts to tame the young player.