Auburn - Mississippi State's defense dominated the Arkansas Razorbacks in a 7-3 victory last week, but that performance proved to be an anomaly in a crushing 27-13 loss to Auburn on Saturday.

The Mississippi State defense was exposed by one of the SEC's most stagnant offenses. Michigan State transfer Payton Thorne, who had not thrown for more than 102 yards against an SEC defense this season, carved apart the Bulldog defense for 230 yards and three touchdowns. The Tigers also controlled the line of scrimmage, gashing the Bulldogs for 186 rushing yards, including 144 from junior Jarquez Hunter.

"I need to watch the film, but I think you need to get yourself in a state more than you do when you show up to practice," head coach Zach Arnett said. "Obviously we failed to get them there. I think we lacked intensity coming out."

Thorne connected with his receivers for two deep shots early on. Jackson State transfer Shane Hooks won a jump ball against Mississippi State freshman Brice Pollock for a 27-yard score, and senior Ja'Varrius Johnson found himself wide open down the left sideline for a 47-yard touchdown on their next drive.

With Jo'quavious Marks out, Mississippi State still managed to be effective on the ground with 184 rushing yards. Freshman Seth Davis rushed for 62 and juco transfer Jeffery Pittman picked up 51 while quarterback Mike Wright added 63, but Wright struggled to form a consistent passing attack.

The Vanderbilt transfer Wright completed 16-32 passes for 161 yards with one touchdown and one interception in his second start at Mississippi State. His accuracy was inconsistent, but the one redeeming quality was his connection with sophomore Zavion Thomas, who caught nine passes for 112 yards and the Bulldogs' only touchdown in the second half.

"We've got a bunch of playmakers on this team and my job is to give them the ball," Wright said. "As easy as that sounds, that's as easy as it really needs to be. I didn't connect the way I wanted to connect today. It'll be an emphasis going forward, but I'm proud of Zavion. He's a young guy who has to play a little bit more maturely. He's a young guy. He hasn't played a whole bunch of football, but he's a starting receiver and I'm proud of the way he's came through for us."

Mississippi State scored a Kyle Ferrie field goal on its first drive after Thomas opened it up with a 32-yard reception, but the offense stalled throughout the rest of the half. Auburn added an Alex McPherson field goal in the second quarter, but the Bulldogs had a chance to make it a one score game at halftime later on.

The Bulldogs had a 4th and 1 in Auburn territory with less than two minutes to go but failed to convert. Offensive coordinator Kevin Barbay called a read option which left a hole for Pittman to pick up a first down, but Wright kept it and was tackled for a loss.

Auburn took advantage, and got down the field quickly behind a 21-yard catch by Hunter, and Thorne connected with running back Jeremiah Cobb in the end zone with nine seconds on the clock.

The second half went much differently for the Bulldogs, but the 24-3 hole they had dug was too big to get out of. They gave up only one field goal, and held the Tigers to 115 total yards after allowing 301 in the first half.

"We couldn't stop anything in the first half," Arnett said. "You ain't winning a football game playing a half of football. I appreciate the guys' efforts in the second half, but I'm not particularly interested in moral victories."

The Bulldogs scored a field goal on the opening drive, and Wright and Thomas continued their connection with a 14-yard reception in the back of the end zone on their next drive. They had cut the lead to 27-13, but the offense returned to its first half form when they made it a two-score game.

Wright overthrew Jordan Mosley on a deep ball, resulting in an easy interception for Auburn's Zion Puckett. With under four minutes to go, the Bulldogs had driven into the red zone but Wright's passes to Thomas and Justin Robinson would miss by inches to result in catches out of bounds and a turnover on downs.

"As a quarterback you've got to give your receivers a chance," Wright said. "All those passes towards the end zone were out of bounds. 99.99% of balls thrown out of bounds are incompletions."

Mississippi State falls to 4-4 overall and 1-4 in SEC play. They'll return to Starkville next Saturday for homecoming against Kentucky.