Auburn opens as 2-score road underdog against Mississippi State

Auburn opens as 2-score road underdog against Mississippi State

Auburn will be an underdog for the fifth time in as many games when it travels to Starkville, Miss., in Week 10.

Auburn opened as a 12-point underdog against Mississippi State for the teams’ matchup Saturday at Davis Wade Stadium, according to Circa Sports. The Tigers and Bulldogs will meet at 6:30 p.m., with the game airing on ESPN2.

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Auburn has not been favored in a game since its SEC opener against Missouri back on Sept. 24, with Bryan Harsin’s team dropping each of its four games since that narrow overtime escape at Jordan-Hare Stadium — losing at home to LSU, then on the road against Georgia and Ole Miss before the most recent loss at home to Arkansas after the bye week.

Auburn (3-5, 1-4 SEC) will try to snap that skid Saturday in Starkville against Mississippi State. The Bulldogs are 5-3 overall and 2-3 in SEC play, and Mike Leach’s team is mired in a losing streak of its own. Mississippi State has lost each of its last two games, at Kentucky and at Alabama, but will be coming off its bye week when it hosts Auburn in Week 10.

The Bulldogs are 4-0 at home this season, while the Tigers are 0-2 on the road this fall. Mississippi State will also be aiming for its second consecutive win against Auburn after rallying from a 28-3 deficit for a 43-34 win at Jordan-Hare Stadium last fall. That collapse set off Auburn’s season-ending five-game losing streak in Year 1 under Harsin; a loss Saturday would give the Tigers another five-game skid under the embattled coach.

Auburn leads the all-time series with Mississippi State, 62-30-3, but the division rivalry has been relatively even over the last decade, with the teams splitting the last 10 meetings. Neither team has won more than two in a row against the other since Auburn strung together four consecutive wins between 2008-11. Auburn also holds a 14-7-1 advantage on the road in the series, but the Tigers have not won consecutive games in Starkville since 2008 and 2010.

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.