Auburn Vs. Mississippi State Final Score: War Eagle Magic Still Works, 41-34

Really wish Spirit had attempted to enter the press box instead of some luxury suite, at which point he would’ve joined the New York Times and become a member of Hater Vampire Family.

UPDATE: Video after the jump!

Via @sharapovasthigh:

Had the play been ruled a touchdown, Mississippi State’s extra point would’ve bounced off the upright. Kicker distracted by awkward reflection of luxury suite glass dented by Auburn mascot Spirit. Sorry.

This is the same Auburn team that used a last-minute onsides kick and drive to finally put down a challenge from upstart Utah State last week. Maybe they only play well with their backs against the wall.

At least, you would think. There’s only so many times you can run towards the end of the cliff before you fall off.

Video is after the jump, and is not pretty.

Miss State was hit for an illegal hit on the play, and should have been. It’s helmet-to-helmet, though it seems less deliberately malicious to me than a clear case of leading with the crown on a helmet. The worst thing about helmet-to-helmet hits, though, is that intent is secondary to effect: even if a safety coming downhill towards a streaking receiver takes precautions, there is always the chance that the speed of the play will exceed the reactions of the player, and that’s when you end up with two players on the ground and the trainers looking for backboards.

The final score in the Mississippi State-Auburn game this year will not be 3-2. It’s not even going to be last years’ 17-14 slog. At this point, 300-200 might not be entirely out of the question. This time, the two teams are having the barnburner that everyone expected.

The lines are pretty impressive, at least for the offenses. Mississippi State: 14 first downs, 246 yards, two total touchdowns. Auburn: 12 first downs, 229 yards, fhree total touchdowns. All as part of 55 first-half points -- Auburn 31, Mississippi State 24 -- that has turned this into one of the more exciting early Week 2 games. When not distracted by their obvious indifference to what the offenses are doing, the defenses are contributing to the pointspalooza, with each team having an interception return for a touchdown also on the stat sheet.

Mississippi State offensive lineman James Carmon suffered an apparent knee injury late in the second quarter of the Bulldogs’ game at Auburn. Carmon, the Bulldogs’ left tackle, had his knee rolled during a play, and was unable to get up.

Carmon covered his face as he was carted off the field. A senior, Carmon became the Bulldogs’ starter at left tackle after Derek Sherrod went to the Green Bay Packers in the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft, and contributed to Mississippi State’s onslaught against Memphis in Week 1 of the college football season. The Bulldogs put up 59 points on Memphis, rushing for 309 yards and throwing for 336.

Coming into this week’s Mississippi State-Auburn game, the team facing the biggest question was Auburn: Was it an anomaly that the defending national champion had to fight off a challenge from Utah State out of the WAC in Week 1, or would the Tigers struggle to compete in the SEC this week? So far, go with the former. In fact, it looks like we might be headed for a track meet.