Ole Miss opened the season against non-conference and longtime rival Memphis and played their home opener against Big 12 opponent Missouri. [3] Also, returning is Junior P Blake McAdams, who averaged 38.2 yards per kick and landed 15 of his 68 punts inside opponents' 20. Backups Arnil Stallworth, Justin Williams and Christian Ducré all return, as well. Juniors Eric Hoskins, who redshirted in 2006 after transferring from Holmes, and Brandon Hart, a converted RB, will share the FB duties. Auburn (1–1, 0–0) had fallen from the national polls by losing to then-unranked South Florida in Week 2, after defeating the Kansas State Wildcats with a 14-point fourth quarter rally in the opening week of the season. [3] He looks to handle the 'Dogs' starting RB duties again in 2007. MSU capitalized on AU's turnovers by adding another Carlson field goal on the ensuing drive to stretch their lead to 13–0. With a strong, consensus top-40 class, the Bulldogs will expect and need some newcomers to make an immediate impact on the field. Freshman Reggie Odom, Sophomores Quinton Wesley and Kyle Love (7 tackles in 2006)[3] and Junior Cortez McCraney (10 tackles, 1.5 TFL in 2005) will all have chances to earn the vacant spots, but they will be challenged by newcomers like JUCO transfer Jessie Bowman and true-Freshman LaMarcus Williams. Last Meeting: September 9, 2006, L 0–34Series Record: MSU trails 22–56–2. RB Arnil Stallworth led MSU with only 3 pass receptions for 33 yards. In the third quarter, the Tigers' distanced themselves with two eleven-yard touchdown passes from QB Matt Flynn, one to WR Early Doucet and the other to RB Charles Scott, bringing the score to 0–31 to start the fourth quarter. This was Ed Orgeron's third and final season as head coach of the football team. In these cases, the average was taken. As such, the official record for Alabama is 2–6 (1–4). Neither team's offense was able to successfully move the ball in the second half until MSU took possession on AU's 44-yard line with 10:42 left in the fourth quarter, after S Demario Bobo intercepted a Kodi Burns pass. For MSU, RB Anthony Dixon led the Bulldogs on the ground with just 29 yards on 13 carries (2.2 average). With 17 returning starters (10 offense, 5 defense, Kicker, Punter) in 2007, the Bulldogs will expect to see statistical improvement paying off in the Win/Loss column in "Sly" Croom's contract year. Kodi Burns led the way for the Tigers, accounting for five of his team's seven carries and 21 of AU's 30 yards on the drive, capped by his one-yard dive into the endzone to tie the game, with K Wes Byrum's successful Extra point giving the Tigers a 13–14 lead, which they held for the remainder of the first half. After the competitive first half, Mississippi State regrouped and the Bulldogs took the game over in the second by scoring 21 unanswered points. [8] Tulane responded on the next series, however, with a quick three-play, 61-yard drive resulting in a 39-yard touchdown run by Forte. Defensively, LSU LB Ali Highsmith led the Tigers with eight total tackles. Ole Miss's only conference wins came against Vanderbilt and Mississippi State, and they suffered blowout losses against the likes of Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky and Wake Forest. However, the Tigers mounted a comeback late in the second quarter, when RB Ben Tate ran 28 yards to finally put Auburn on the board. Despite their poor record, Croom's squad showed signs of improvement in 2006: they were outgained by just 51.9 yards per game, fewer than conference foes Ole Miss and Kentucky, who won the 2006 Music City Bowl; in their 24–27 loss at Georgia, they reached UGA's 31-yard line but lost a fumble with 0:03 remaining in the game; they outgained Arkansas, the 2006 SEC West Champs, by 99 yards in a 14–28 loss; and the Bulldogs also lost close games to Tulane (29–32), Kentucky (31–34) and rival Ole Miss in the 2006 Battle for the Golden Egg (17–20). For the Bulldogs' improvement, Croom was voted the 2007 SEC Coach of the Year by his peers. However, he also turned the ball over on his first possession. LB Jamar Chaney led MSU with six total tackles. The only other scoring in the first half came when MSU and Tulane traded field goals in the second quarter, a 23-yarder by Adam Carlson and a 26-yarder by Ross Thevenot, respectively, leaving the score tied 17–17 at halftime. Later in the third quarter, RB Anthony Dixon broke a 27-yard run to stretch the 'Dogs' lead to 14. The Rebels also played host to Northwestern State and hosted Louisiana Tech for their homecoming game. Despite the loss of six starters from 2006, Mississippi State returns five proven, veteran starters (in bold) and a strong group of young players who will attempt to replace last year's Seniors.