Zach Arnett responds to report that Auburn knew Mississippi State's signs in Week 9

After obtaining their first conference win of the season the week prior and securing back-to-back wins, Mississippi State‘s luck ran out on the road this weekend when they fell to Auburn 27-13 on Saturday.

A bit of controversy was added to the loss after reports following the game revealed that Auburn may have stolen Mississippi State’s offensive signs during the contest. Sign-stealing at large has been more magnified recently in college football in the midst of Michigan‘s current sign-stealing investigation, but stealing signs within a game is completely legal, and something the Tigers’ coaching staff may have executed in Saturday’s game.

Mississippi State head coach Zach Arnett was asked about the sign-stealing reports during his press conference on Monday and believes that the numbers speak for themselves regarding the situation.

“I mean if my recollection serves me right I think in the first half we had 122 total yards of offense, that’s 4.9 yards per play. In the second half we had 223 yards of offense, 5.9 yards per play. I think 75, 76 rushing yards in the first half, 108 rushing yards in the second half,” Arnett explained. “I guess I would have to let you come to your own conclusions and determinations from that report. I tend to let the facts speak for themselves.”

There’s no doubt that the Bulldogs were more successful offensively in the second half on Saturday, finally reaching the end zone for the first and only time of the game on the first play of the fourth quarter. But was that a result of them changing signs at halftime and the Tigers not having an advantage in the second half?

Mike Gittens from ‘The War Rapport’ reported on the situation following the game tweeting, “Per a source, Auburn’s defense caught on to Mississippi State’s offensive calls early in Saturday’s game. Any call that started with a certain letter was a run play and they figured it out by the second quarter. MSU kept on doing it.”

The extent of sign stealing on Saturday in Jordan-Hare Stadium is still uncertain, and could be where to point regarding the Bulldogs’ first half woes. But Mississippi State this season has struggled offensively at large, only scoring one touchdown in their previous game as well and ranking dead last in scoring in the SEC this season averaging just 25.1 points per game.