September 10, 2011 Week 2 · Regular Season Belt defended

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

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Auburn 41

Away · Challenger

Mississippi State 34

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.

McNeal's 43-yard interception return for a touchdown in Q1 that gave Auburn early momentum and set the tone defensively
Perkins' 40-yard touchdown run for Mississippi State showing their offensive firepower but not enough to overcome Auburn
Trotter to Blake touchdown passes in Q2 that extended Auburn's lead during their most productive offensive stretch
Auburn's defense holding Mississippi State scoreless in the second half despite the Bulldogs' superior field position and time of possession

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

When	Team	Yards	Play
Q1 12:37	Auburn	+0 yd	Cody Parkey extra point GOOD.
Q1 12:37	Auburn	+35 yd	Michael Dyer rush for 35 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q1 11:39	Mississippi State	+43 yd	Chris Relf pass intercepted by Demetruce McNeal at the MisSt 43, returned for 43 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q1 11:39	Auburn	+0 yd	Cody Parkey extra point GOOD.
Q1 11:39	Auburn	+23 yd	Cody Parkey kickoff for 70 yards returned by LaDarius Perkins for 23 yards to the MisSt 38.
Q1 10:38	Mississippi State	+0 yd	Derek DePasquale extra point GOOD.
Q1 10:38	Mississippi State	+40 yd	LaDarius Perkins rush for 40 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q1 6:32	Mississippi State	+23 yd	Brian Egan kickoff for 69 yards returned by Tre Mason for 23 yards to the Aub 24.
Q1 6:32	Mississippi State	+15 yd	Chris Relf pass complete to Brandon Heavens for 15 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q1 6:32	Mississippi State	+0 yd	Derek DePasquale extra point GOOD.
Q2 10:36	Auburn	+27 yd	Barrett Trotter pass intercepted by Johnthan Banks at the Aub 27, returned for 27 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q2 10:36	Mississippi State	+38 yd	Brian Egan kickoff for 62 yards returned by Tre Mason for 38 yards to the Aub 46.
Q2 10:36	Mississippi State	+0 yd	Derek DePasquale extra point GOOD.
Q2 8:37	Auburn	+46 yd	Barrett Trotter pass complete to Emory Blake for 46 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q2 8:37	Auburn	+0 yd	Cody Parkey extra point GOOD.
Q2 6:41	Auburn	+23 yd	Barrett Trotter pass complete to Emory Blake for 23 yards to the MisSt 36 for a 1ST down.
Q2 4:51	Auburn	+2 yd	Michael Dyer rush for 2 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q2 4:51	Auburn	+0 yd	Cody Parkey extra point GOOD.
Q2 2:00	Mississippi State	+20 yd	Chris Relf pass complete to Brandon Heavens for 20 yards to the Aub 31 for a 1ST down.
Q2 0:40	Mississippi State	+30 yd	Brian 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 0:40	Mississippi State	+27 yd	Derek DePasquale 27 yard field goal GOOD.
Q2 0:21	Auburn	+22 yd	Barrett 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 0:05	Auburn	+43 yd	Cody Parkey 43 yard field goal GOOD.
Q3 15:00	Mississippi State	+41 yd	Brian Egan kickoff for 61 yards returned by Tre Mason for 41 yards to the 50 yard line.
Q3 12:13	Auburn	+37 yd	Cody Parkey 37 yard field goal GOOD.
Q3 12:07	Mississippi State	+23 yd	Chris Relf pass complete to Chad Bumphis for 23 yards to the MisSt 43 for a 1ST down.
Q3 9:12	Mississippi State	+32 yd	Derek DePasquale 32 yard field goal GOOD.
Q4 14:03	Auburn	+0 yd	Cody Parkey extra point GOOD.
Q4 14:03	Auburn	+10 yd	Barrett Trotter pass complete to Philip Lutzenkirchen for 10 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q3 3:25	Auburn	+52 yd	Michael Dyer rush for 52 yards to the MisSt 40 for a 1ST down.
Q4 4:51	Mississippi State	+3 yd	Vick Ballard rush for 3 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q4 4:51	Mississippi State	+26 yd	Brian Egan kickoff for 64 yards returned by Tre Mason for 26 yards to the Aub 32.
Q4 4:51	Mississippi State	+0 yd	Derek DePasquale extra point GOOD.
Q4 2:52	Auburn	+22 yd	Steven 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

Player	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	INT	QBR
Barrett TrotterAuburn	16/23	146	6.3	2	1	27.1
Chris RelfMississippi State	20/33	195	5.9	1	1	56.4
Chad BumphisMississippi State	1/1	3	3.0	0	0	17.5

Rushing

Player	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Michael DyerAuburn	18	150	8.3	2	52
Onterio McCalebbAuburn	11	68	6.2	0	15
Tre MasonAuburn	3	14	4.7	0	15
Barrett TrotterAuburn	4	3	0.8	0	8
Vick BallardMississippi State	21	135	6.4	1	19
Chris RelfMississippi State	27	106	3.9	0	17
LaDarius PerkinsMississippi State	11	78	7.1	1	40
Chad BumphisMississippi State	2	14	7.0	0	14
Adrian MarcusMississippi State	1	1	1.0	0	1

Receiving

Player	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Emory BlakeAuburn	7	108	15.4	1	46
Onterio McCalebbAuburn	4	24	6.0	0	10
Philip LutzenkirchenAuburn	3	18	6.0	1	10
Trovon ReedAuburn	1	0	0.0	0	0
Travante StallworthAuburn	1	-4	-4.0	0	0
Vick BallardMississippi State	5	64	12.8	0	18
Brandon HeavensMississippi State	3	46	15.3	1	20
Chad BumphisMississippi State	2	31	15.5	0	23
Michael CarrMississippi State	3	21	7.0	0	11
Ricco SandersMississippi State	2	19	9.5	0	12
Arceto ClarkMississippi State	1	6	6.0	0	6
Chris RelfMississippi State	1	3	3.0	0	3
Jameon LewisMississippi State	1	3	3.0	0	3
Brandon HillMississippi State	1	3	3.0	0	3
LaDarius PerkinsMississippi State	1	2	2.0	0	2
Blaine ClausellMississippi State	1	0	0.0	0	0

Show more stats (5 more categories)

Interceptions

Player	INT	YDS	TD
Demetruce McNealAuburn	1	43	1
Johnthan BanksMississippi State	1	27	1

Kick Returns

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG
Tre MasonAuburn	6	172	28.7	41
Brandon FulseAuburn	1	7	7.0	7
LaDarius PerkinsMississippi State	2	37	18.5	23
Jameon LewisMississippi State	2	28	14.0	15

Kicking

Player	FG	PCT	LONG	XP	PTS
Cody ParkeyAuburn	2/2	100.0	43	5/5	11
Derek DePasqualeMississippi State	2/2	100.0	32	4/4	10

Punt Returns

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Trovon ReedAuburn	3	9	3.0	9	0
Johnthan BanksMississippi State	3	22	7.3	22	0

Punting

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	TB	In 20	LONG
Steven ClarkAuburn	6	274	45.7	0	0	58
Baker SwedenburgMississippi State	6	240	40.0	0	0	49

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

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