Auburn and Mississippi State will kick off under the lights in Starkville, Miss., in Week 9.
The Tigers and Bulldogs are set for a 6:30 p.m. kickoff when they meet at Davis Wade Stadium on Nov. 5, the SEC announced late Monday morning. The matchup will air on ESPN2.
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Auburn’s trip to Starkville will mark the 96th all-time meeting between the two SEC West foes. Auburn leads the series, 62-30-3, and holds a 14-7-1 edge on the road in the series. Despite that advantage on the Bulldogs’ home turf, the Tigers are 2-3 in their last five trips to Davis Wade Stadium.
This year, Auburn will try to avenge the loss that kicked off the program’s backslide during the second half of last season. The Tigers squandered a 28-3 first-half lead last year at Jordan-Hare Stadium, giving up 40 unanswered points on the way to a 43-34 home loss. It was the first of five consecutive losses for Auburn to end Year 1 under Bryan Harsin, and the program has not fully recovered in the nearly 12 months since, as the Tigers are off to a 3-4 start to this season — with two wins coming against an FCS team and a Mountain West opponent, and the other coming in the form of an overtime escape against Missouri to open SEC play.
Before Auburn travels to Starkville, it will host Arkansas this weekend at Jordan-Hare Stadium while aiming to snap a three-game losing streak. Mississippi State (5-3, 2-3 SEC) is off this week after losing back-to-back games against Kentucky and Alabama, as Mike Leach’s program dropped out of the AP top 25 on Sunday.
Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.
