The College Football BeltThe CFB Belt
Belt / 2011 season / Reign #277 · Game 1,436 of 1,641
September 10, 2011 Week 2 · Regular Season Belt defended

Auburn defends the belt, 41–34, at home over Mississippi State.

Home · Defending Holder
Auburn 41
AT
Away · Challenger
Mississippi StateAP No. 16 34

AP poll, week 2: Mississippi State No. 16 at Auburn unranked · No. 1 that week: West Virginia. The belt vs. the polls →

Belt context

Where this game sits in the lineage

Auburn came in 280 days into reign #277, which began with a win over South Carolina, with 2 defenses already behind it; this was its third defense. It was the last defense: Clemson took the belt in the very next belt game, on September 17, 2011.

For Mississippi State this was its 18th shot at the belt; it had held the belt twice before.

This is the only time Auburn and Mississippi State have met with the belt on the line.

AI-Written

Recap

Auburn's defense came up big early when Demetruce McNeal returned an interception 43 yards for a touchdown just minutes into the game, setting the tone for a defensive struggle. Mississippi State's offense responded with explosive plays, including a 40-yard touchdown run by LaDarius Perkins and a 15-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Heavens, but Auburn's passing attack found success through Barrett Trotter and Emory Blake, with Blake catching two touchdown passes to help Auburn build a halftime lead. The second half saw Auburn's defense tighten further as they held Mississippi State's high-powered offense in check, with Cody Parkey adding a field goal in the third quarter to extend the lead. Despite Mississippi State outgaining Auburn 531 to 381 total yards and dominating time of possession 22:07 to 14:33, Auburn's turnover margin and timely scoring plays allowed them to hold on for the 41-34 victory and keep the belt.

Written by Claude from the box score and play-by-play on this page — a plain-English recap of the numbers below, not a substitute for them.

Full Box Score

Team stats

CFBD box score
 AuburnMississippi State
Total yards381531
Rushing yards235333
Passing yards156202
First downs2131
3rd down conv.4/1211/20
Turnovers11
Penalties–yards7–8510–75
Time of possession14:3322:07

Full team box score from CFBD’s /games/teams data. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have team-level stats that far back.

Play By Play

Key plays

CFBD play-by-play
WhenTeamYardsPlay
Q1 12:37Auburn+0 ydCody Parkey extra point GOOD.
Q1 12:37Auburn+35 ydMichael Dyer rush for 35 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q1 11:39Mississippi State+43 ydChris Relf pass intercepted by Demetruce McNeal at the MisSt 43, returned for 43 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q1 11:39Auburn+0 ydCody Parkey extra point GOOD.
Q1 11:39Auburn+23 ydCody Parkey kickoff for 70 yards returned by LaDarius Perkins for 23 yards to the MisSt 38.
Q1 10:38Mississippi State+0 ydDerek DePasquale extra point GOOD.
Q1 10:38Mississippi State+40 ydLaDarius Perkins rush for 40 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q1 6:32Mississippi State+23 ydBrian Egan kickoff for 69 yards returned by Tre Mason for 23 yards to the Aub 24.
Q1 6:32Mississippi State+15 ydChris Relf pass complete to Brandon Heavens for 15 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q1 6:32Mississippi State+0 ydDerek DePasquale extra point GOOD.
Q2 10:36Auburn+27 ydBarrett Trotter pass intercepted by Johnthan Banks at the Aub 27, returned for 27 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q2 10:36Mississippi State+38 ydBrian Egan kickoff for 62 yards returned by Tre Mason for 38 yards to the Aub 46.
Q2 10:36Mississippi State+0 ydDerek DePasquale extra point GOOD.
Q2 8:37Auburn+46 ydBarrett Trotter pass complete to Emory Blake for 46 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q2 8:37Auburn+0 ydCody Parkey extra point GOOD.
Q2 6:41Auburn+23 ydBarrett Trotter pass complete to Emory Blake for 23 yards to the MisSt 36 for a 1ST down.
Q2 4:51Auburn+2 ydMichael Dyer rush for 2 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q2 4:51Auburn+0 ydCody Parkey extra point GOOD.
Q2 2:00Mississippi State+20 ydChris Relf pass complete to Brandon Heavens for 20 yards to the Aub 31 for a 1ST down.
Q2 0:40Mississippi State+30 ydBrian Egan kickoff for 70 yards returned by Tre Mason for 30 yards to the Aub 20, AUBURN penalty 10 yard Holding on Harris Gaston accepted.
Q2 0:40Mississippi State+27 ydDerek DePasquale 27 yard field goal GOOD.
Q2 0:21Auburn+22 ydBarrett Trotter pass complete to Emory Blake for 22 yards to the MisSt 26, MISSISSIPPI ST penalty 15 yard Illegal Helmet Contact on Nickoe Whitley accepted for a 1ST down.
Q2 0:05Auburn+43 ydCody Parkey 43 yard field goal GOOD.
Q3 15:00Mississippi State+41 ydBrian Egan kickoff for 61 yards returned by Tre Mason for 41 yards to the 50 yard line.
Q3 12:13Auburn+37 ydCody Parkey 37 yard field goal GOOD.
Q3 12:07Mississippi State+23 ydChris Relf pass complete to Chad Bumphis for 23 yards to the MisSt 43 for a 1ST down.
Q3 9:12Mississippi State+32 ydDerek DePasquale 32 yard field goal GOOD.
Q4 14:03Auburn+0 ydCody Parkey extra point GOOD.
Q4 14:03Auburn+10 ydBarrett Trotter pass complete to Philip Lutzenkirchen for 10 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q3 3:25Auburn+52 ydMichael Dyer rush for 52 yards to the MisSt 40 for a 1ST down.
Q4 4:51Mississippi State+3 ydVick Ballard rush for 3 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q4 4:51Mississippi State+26 ydBrian Egan kickoff for 64 yards returned by Tre Mason for 26 yards to the Aub 32.
Q4 4:51Mississippi State+0 ydDerek DePasquale extra point GOOD.
Q4 2:52Auburn+22 ydSteven Clark punt for 51 yards, returned by Johnthan Banks for 22 yards to the MisSt 33.

Scoring plays, turnovers, and gains of 20+ yards, pulled from CFBD’s play-by-play. This section only appears for belt games with play-by-play on file (2003 onward).

Box Score

Player stats

CFBD player stats

Passing

Auburn

PlayerC/ATTYDSAVGTDINTQBR
Barrett Trotter16/231466.32127.1

Mississippi State

PlayerC/ATTYDSAVGTDINTQBR
Chris Relf20/331955.91156.4
Chad Bumphis1/133.00017.5

Rushing

Auburn

PlayerCARYDSAVGTDLONG
Michael Dyer181508.3252
Onterio McCalebb11686.2015
Tre Mason3144.7015
Barrett Trotter430.808

Mississippi State

PlayerCARYDSAVGTDLONG
Vick Ballard211356.4119
Chris Relf271063.9017
LaDarius Perkins11787.1140
Chad Bumphis2147.0014
Adrian Marcus111.001

Receiving

Auburn

PlayerRECYDSAVGTDLONG
Emory Blake710815.4146
Onterio McCalebb4246.0010
Philip Lutzenkirchen3186.0110
Trovon Reed100.000
Travante Stallworth1-4-4.000

Mississippi State

PlayerRECYDSAVGTDLONG
Vick Ballard56412.8018
Brandon Heavens34615.3120
Chad Bumphis23115.5023
Michael Carr3217.0011
Ricco Sanders2199.5012
Arceto Clark166.006
Chris Relf133.003
Jameon Lewis133.003
Brandon Hill133.003
LaDarius Perkins122.002
Blaine Clausell100.000
Show more stats (5 more categories)

Interceptions

Auburn

PlayerINTYDSTD
Demetruce McNeal1431

Mississippi State

PlayerINTYDSTD
Johnthan Banks1271

Kick Returns

Auburn

PlayerNOYDSAVGLONGTD
Tre Mason617228.7410
Brandon Fulse177.070

Mississippi State

PlayerNOYDSAVGLONGTD
LaDarius Perkins23718.5230
Jameon Lewis22814.0150

Kicking

Auburn

PlayerFGPCTLONGXPPTS
Cody Parkey2/2100.0435/511

Mississippi State

PlayerFGPCTLONGXPPTS
Derek DePasquale2/2100.0324/410

Punt Returns

Auburn

PlayerNOYDSAVGLONGTD
Trovon Reed393.090

Mississippi State

PlayerNOYDSAVGLONGTD
Johnthan Banks3227.3220

Punting

Auburn

PlayerNOYDSAVGTBIn 20LONG
Steven Clark627445.70058

Mississippi State

PlayerNOYDSAVGTBIn 20LONG
Baker Swedenburg624040.00049

Full player stats from CFBD’s /games/players data, split out by team. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have player-level stats that far back. Linked player names go to that player’s stat line in every other belt game they’ve appeared in.

Sources Box score at ESPN · Game record: College Football Data (id 312530002) · This game in the downloadable dataset