The Auburn Tigers (3-4 SEC: 0-4) will take on the Mississippi State Rebels, (4-3 SEC: 1-3) Saturday October 27th at 2:30pm CT, in what will be another game filled with hopes, cheers, and cries from 88,043 loud people.
Despite being 0-4 in the SEC three of those four have being against ranked teams with two of those being the number one team in the country Georgia and last weekend being No. 12 Ole Miss. Both of those games have two things in common, one possession game, and at Jordan-Hare.
Compare those two games to the one two weekends ago at No. 15 LSU where Auburn fell to the Bayou Bengals 48-18, or even there opening SEC test in college station where Auburn fell 27-10. The advantage when the Tigers are on Pat-Dye Field is massive.
"I know that they've endured disappointing years and certainly are in the growing pains with us right now, but their energy and their support,” said Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze, “I just can't say enough about that for them.”
Disappointing years might be an understatement, the Tigers have not won more than six games in a season since the 2019 season, have not been ranked since that 2019 season, and have not won a bowl game since the 2018 season.
However, Auburn has a chance to right the ship, opening as a 6.5-point favorite means belief is strong that Auburn will grab its first SEC win, but that does not mean it’s guaranteed. It’ll take focus and determination from a struggling Auburn team that is young and hungry.
"Good things happen when you keep showing up and you keep putting your best foot forward," Auburn quarterback Payton Thorne said. "That's what we're going to do. I know that's what my mindset is, and I have confidence that the rest of my teammates are thinking the same way. We're just going to show up, have a good practice today, have a good practice the rest of the week, and go out there and play well on Saturday."
"We just come in here every day, and we know we've got to get to work," said fellow Auburn quarterback Robby Ashford. "Who's going to work when it's hard? That's been our biggest test.”
The 88,043 loud screaming people will also need to work hard, rest their voices, read the yell book, figure out which mascot Mississippi State is using in the moment.
That’s the stat that decides if Auburn football lives or dies, not the passing yards of Thorne, not the interceptions of Simpson, and not the pancakes of Connor Lew. The only stat that matters is 88,043.
And the 88,043 want a win inside Jordan-Hare stadium against Mississippi State on Saturday October 28th at 2:30pm ct.
