With Christmas approaching quickly, it seems odd for college football teams to be preparing for another week of regular-season football. Auburn and Mississippi State will finally take the field against each other on Saturday after the original Nov. 14 matchup was postponed due to COVID-19 protocols. Here’s a look at the series history between the two.
Auburn has dominated this series since it first played Mississippi State in 1905. The Tigers lead the all-time series 64-27-2.
The teams played eight times through nine years in the 1910s, without Mississippi State winning a game. The Bulldogs struggled to score against the Tigers that decade, outscored 130-14 by Auburn with six shutout losses.
The Tigers and Bulldogs have since faced off every year since 1937, excluding the 1943 and 1951 seasons. Auburn had cancelled its 1943 season since nearly its entire coaching staff served in the Army during World War II.
Most of the games were played in Birmingham from the late 1930s to the 1950s. In the 1950s, locations such as Jackson and Starkville, Mississippi, and Auburn were sprinkled in the mix. Locations for the game began being consistently alternated in the mid 1970s and have alternated since.
This year’s location is in Starkville, Mississippi, where Auburn’s last trip resulted in a loss. The Tigers, ranked No. 8 at the time, were upset by the Bulldogs 23-9. Traditionally, the Tigers are 13-7-1 in Starkville.
Arguably one of the most famous games in the series was in 2008, where the Tigers won by a score of 3-2. Auburn was responsible for all five points scored in the game, though. Auburn's Wes Byrum kicked a 35-yard field goal in the second quarter and the Tigers were called for holding in the end zone midway through the fourth, which resulted in a safety benefitting Mississippi State.
Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn is 4-3 against Mississippi State and will face off against first-year Mississippi State head coach Mike Leach. A win on Saturday will secure a winning season for Malzahn and the Tigers. In his seven years on the Plains, Malzahn has finished above .500 every season.
