Auburn’s furious comeback failed after Jo’Quavious Marks scored a touchdown on Mississippi State’s first overtime possession to give the Bulldogs a 39-33 win.

Mississippi State snapped a two-game losing skid while the Tigers remain on a five-game losing streak with losses to the Bulldogs and Mississippi State for the first time since 2015 in the same season.

Mike Leach addressed reporters with relief after seeing Mississippi native Jarquez Hunter’s go-ahead touchdown with a little over a minute left in the game. Auburn trailed 24-3 at one point and entered the locker room at halftime down 24-6 at Davis Wade Stadium.

Here’s what Leach had to say about the victory.

 How would you evaluate how your team handled the game?

Leach: “Good at the end. Good at the beginning. In between, we just bounced on and off the rails. The defense kept us in it. Then, we helped ourselves offensively as far as getting back in it. Wins are hard no matter who you are. Sometimes there are games like that, and the toughest team battles through and wins. I did feel like that was the case. I do think there are some things to address. You can’t start fast and then fall asleep at the wheel in the middle. At least it is not in your best interest by any means. We were tough enough to fight through some awfully tough situations. You could say we are tough and dumb. We are tough, so that part is good. We have got to learn to enjoy prosperity a little more. How do you enjoy prosperity? You do all the stuff that got you there in the first place. All the little things.” 

What did Auburn do to take away the check-down passes?

Leach: “We had good pass protection for the first quarter. Then, after that, we would take turns not being able to start their feet. It wasn’t so much that nothing was there, but we had to get rid of the ball quickly. Our protection broke down. It was kind of a ‘take turns’ deal. All it is is basic technique. They obviously have some great players. If you want to know the quality of players these guys have, go back and look at the articles you wrote about these guys when they were getting recruited. We wanted nearly all of them. They are good players. They are the type of guys that are explosive enough to make you pay if you flinch. They will hit the quarterback in the mouth. In desperation as he is tossing to the running back they will blow him up.”

What were you thinking when Auburn scored the touchdown late in the fourth quarter?

Leach: “I didn’t have time for a lot of emotions. After that we had to think of the next play. We definitely wanted to put our best foot forward and do everything we could to score. Obviously, we were disappointed they scored. I didn’t even have time to sit there and be upset on the sideline. All of a sudden they are kicking it off. Then we marched it down the field”