Both of Mississippi States' 6-0 starts ended with losses in the state of Alabama. The Bulldogs (5-0, 2-0 SEC West) fell 19-0 at Alabama to end the 1944 streak and dropped a 7-0 decision to Auburn in Birmingham in 1919.

Mississippi State has opened the SEC season with two wins in consecutive years for the first time and is trying for its first three-game winning streak over Auburn (3-2, 1-2) since 1946-48.

The Tigers have a 51-20-2 lead in the all-time series and have never lost two straight at home to Mississippi State, going 22-4 overall. But two of the Bulldogs' wins there have come under coach Jackie Sherrill.

Mississippi State is a defensive team. The Bulldogs quietly have built the second-ranked unit in the nation, allowing only 205.6 yards per game. They are ninth against the run, seventh against the pass and fourth in scoring. They have yielded just 42 points in five games.

Helping matters is short-field punter Matt Wyatt, who has landed eight of his 10 kicks inside the 20-yard line. Six of them have gone inside the 10. The opportunistic defense has caused 15 turnovers, but the offense has given away the ball 11 times.

The Bulldogs have won eight straight regular-season games, their best streak since a 13-game run from 1942-44 (there was no team in 1943 due to World War II).

If Jeff Klein cannot get into the swing of things quickly, Auburn appears in trouble. This will be the second start for Klein, a redshirt freshman who could lead the team to no points in a 24-0 defeat to Tennessee last weekend.

MISSISSIPPI STATE Season schedule and results	AUBURN Season schedule and results
Sep. 4 Middle Tennessee State W 40-7 Sep. 11 Memphis W 13-10 Sep. 18 Oklahoma State W 29-11 Sep. 25 South Carolina W 17-0 Oct. 2 @Vanderbilt W 42-14 Oct. 9 @Auburn TBA Oct. 23 LSU TBA Nov. 4 Kentucky 8:00pm ET Nov. 13 @Alabama TBA Nov. 20 @Arkansas 2:00pm ET Nov. 25 Mississippi TBA	Sep. 4 Appalachian State W 22-15 Sep. 11 Idaho W 30-23 Sep. 18 @LSU W 41-7 Sep. 25 Mississippi L 17-24 Oct. 2 @Tennessee L 0-24 Oct. 9 Mississippi State TBA Oct. 16 Florida 2:00pm ET Oct. 30 @Arkansas 7:00pm ET Nov. 6 Central Florida TBA Nov. 13 @Georgia TBA Nov. 20 Alabama TBA