Write On Sports LLC - "Tigers Blank Bulldogs" by Frank Sita

Tigers Blank Bulldogs

2006-09-10 21:20:35 | By: Frank Sita

Brandon Cox made sure the Auburn Tigers stayed focused on their task at hand: avoiding a potential letdown against the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

Cox kept his end of the bargain Saturday at Scott Field in Starkville, throwing for 249 yards and two touchdowns as the Tigers blanked the Bulldogs, 34-0. Auburn, ranked fourth in the latest Associated Press poll, improved to 2-0 overall and 1-0 in the Southeastern Conference, while Mississippi State fell to 0-2 overall and 0-2 in the league.

The junior, who completed 18-of-27 passes, did what any good quarterback does by taking what the opposing defense allows. State took away the rushing game of Auburn’s Kenny Irons, daring Cox to beat MSU with the pass. Irons tallied 69 yards on 21 runs, while teammate Brad Lester had 40 yards on five carries and two touchdowns on runs of two and 20 yards.

Senior Courtney Taylor was the beneficiary of most of Cox’s passes, hauling in nine receptions for 103 yards, but it was the leadership of Cox and Taylor that stood out most in the lopsided victory for the Tigers. Rod Smith had two catches for 85 yards, including a 20-yard touchdown reception, while tight end Gabe McKenzie had a six-yard scoring catch.

“We knew we were going to have a lot of 1-on-1 coverage,” Taylor said after the game. “I was in-sync with Brandon from the first pass and because Mississippi State was determined to stop our running game, we knew we had to throw the football. I told Rod (Smith) he was going to get a touchdown pass today because of the 1-on-1 coverage, and Rod did get one.”

Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville was proud of the defensive effort as well as the Tigers blanked the Bulldogs for the second straight year after winning 28-0 last year in Auburn.

“We were kind of hard-headed on offense in the first half,” Tuberville said. “But coming from an old defensive coach, this is great to win a game like this on the road in the SEC. I knew we could do it.

“Kenny (Irons) is going to get a lot of this from teams in our league. We couldn’t block all of them, so we knew at halftime we’d have to throw the ball more to open up the run. Brad Lester gave us a good 1-2 punch, but our offensive line needs to get back into rhythm for next week against LSU.

Kicker John Vaughn got praise again this week from Tuberville after the senior booted a career-best 55-yard field goal, giving AU a 17-0 halftime advantage.

“Coach gave me confidence I could make it,” Vaughn said of the long kick. “As a kicker, it’s good to have a coach believe in you. I was glad to have (Tuberville) give me a shot.

“We’ve got lots of seniors on our kicking group, giving the team lots of leadership from myself, (punter) Kody Bliss and (kickoff specialist) Matt Clark.”

While the offense did its job to score enough points, the Tiger defense did its part by preserving the shutout in the fourth period. Mississippi State threatened to score only once in the game after a muffed AU punt return, but Marquis Gunn blocked a field goal by MSU’s Adam Carlson.

“We came in, shot our hands up and did our thing,” said junior defensive end Quentin Groves on the blocked field goal, who was right next to Gunn on the block. “We knew coming in we could block one.

“Anytime you can get a shutout in this league, it’s great. They tried to beat us at our own game by being physical. We practiced against the sprint-out and bootlegs all week in practice because their quarterback (Tray Rutland) is very mobile. They kind of made us win ugly.”

Auburn’s defense sacked Rutland three times and forced three turnovers, holding MSU to 161 yards for the contest.