STARKVILLE — Mississippi State’s big boys from Birmingham, Ala., want to take care of business Saturday against the Auburn Tigers.
Redshirt freshman center D.J. Looney and sophomore left tackle Mark Melichar understand what the Bulldogs are up against, but do not want to play scared against the ninth-ranked Tigers.
“They’ve got some good players and all of them have experience,” said Melichar, who played at Oak Mountain High School in Birmingham. “They are big, fast and strong. It’s an SEC defensive front, so we’re just going to have to come out and play our game. You can’t miss a beat against these guys.”
Mississippi State plays host Auburn at 6 p.m. ESPN2 will televise the matchup.
The Bulldogs (1-1) will try to move the football against a defense that is tied for eighth nationally in points allowed at 6.5 points per game and tied for 13th in rushing defense (60.5 yards per game). The Tigers (2-0) nearly got through seven quarters without giving up a point until Southern Mississippi scored with 2 minutes, 33 seconds remaining in the third quarter last week in a 27-13 Auburn victory.
cdispatch.com
9/12/08
