Bryan Harsin reflects on missed opportunities against Mississippi State

Bryan Harsin and the Auburn Tigers looked to be in the driver’s seat for the entire first half against Mississippi State on Saturday. Auburn led 28-10 at halftime, and with home-field advantage, the Tigers — who entered the game as the highest ranked three-loss team in the country — seemed destined to climb higher in the polls.

Then, a second-half disaster ensued. Harsin’s Auburn Tigers looked completely unprepared out of halftime, and Mississippi State capitalized with the largest comeback in program history. In the process, Leach’s Bulldogs scored 40 unanswered points to win 43-34. The game was a program record for both teams, as it also marked Auburn’s biggest blown lead in a loss.

Auburn’s defense, led by defensive coordinator Derek Mason, folded to Will Rogers and the Air Raid offense. Rogers totaled 415 passing yards and six touchdowns on the day, and Harsin acknowledged that Auburn failed to make proper adjustments against Mississippi State.

“As far as the things that we had done early [on offense] — yeah, we felt like those things would work [in the second half],” Harsin said in Monday’s press conference. “They showed up on tape. If you go back and study the game, those things that we had called in the first half were there in the second half. We didn’t execute and make the plays in some of those situations.

As part of Mississippi State’s 40-point swing, Auburn’s offense stalled; the Tigers were held to just six second-half points, and late in the game, quarterback Bo Nix suffered a season-ending ankle injury. He finished 27-of-41 for 377 yards and two touchdowns against Mississippi State.

“Defensively, with the pass rush, we had the best players on the field at that time to get after the quarterback. I thought their o-line did a good job,” Harsin said, complimenting Mississippi State. “There were some things we did to mix up some of the ways to get pressure on the quarterback. Not to take anything away from the QB — he played really well in the second half.”

By the end of the game, Auburn had surrendered 487 total yards of offense to Mississsippi State, including a high 7.4 average yards per reception. The Bulldogs hardly needed to run the ball against Auburn, taking just 19 carries for 72 yards thanks to Harsin’s defense struggling.

Auburn’s offense also suffered a crucial fumble, after which Leach and the Bulldogs were able to capitalize. Nine penalties for 86 yards couldn’t have helped Harsin’s case, either.

“Talk about momentum, they [Mississippi State] made plays, and what you have to do in a game is understand when momentum shifts, you have to find a way to get it back,” Harsin continued. “You need to make a play. You need to put yourself in a position to get them off the field.”