The Auburn Tigers ran for 390 yards and five touchdowns, as they defeated the Mississippi State Bulldogs, 49-24, in SEC action at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Ben Tate led the way for the Tigers (2-0, 1-0 SEC) with 157 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries, while Onterio McCalebb toted 16 times for 114 yards and a score. Kodi Burns had three one-yard touchdowns runs and he also threw another for Auburn, which opened the 2009 campaign with a 37-13 romp over Louisiana Tech last week. Chris Todd completed 10-of-23 pass attempts for 186 yards and Darvin Adams had five receptions for 116 yards in the win.
Anthony Dixon paced MSU (1-1, 0-1) with 92 rushing yards and a touchdown on 20 carries. The Bulldogs were coming off a 45-7 thrashing of Jackson State, but were outgained in their league opener 589-297 by Auburn.
The Tigers started things with a one-yard touchdown run by Burns midway through the first quarter before the defense stepped in with a 20-yard interception return for a score by Antonio Coleman.
The Bulldogs, however, responded with 17-unaswered points in the second quarter for the lead. Dixon first scored on a one-yard run and that was followed by a Sean Brauchle 29-yard field goal. MSU then got a big play from the special teams, as Robert Elliott returned a blocked punt 10 yards to paydirt.
Auburn, though, responded with a pair of touchdowns in the final three minutes of the opening half. McCalebb went in from 48 yards and Burns from one to give the Tigers a 28-17 edge at the intermission.
The Tigers tacked on a pair of touchdowns late in the third quarter, as they took complete control of the game. Burns first hit Philip Lutzenkirchen on a 13-yard scoring strike and then Tate scurried 35 yards for a touchdown.
The Bulldogs scored their only points of the second half when Tyson Lee threw a one-yard touchdown pass to Christian Ducre early in the fourth frame.
Auburn capped its impressive victory with a one-yard touchdown run by Burns late in the final period.
These two teams combined for 73 points tonight, a big difference from last season's meeting when Auburn clipped MSU by a mere 3-2 score.
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