No. 20 Mississippi State held Johnson, the Southeastern Conference's leading rusher, to just 26 yards, and Dicenzo Miller ran for 136 as the Bulldogs beat the No. 15 Tigers 17-10 on Saturday.
Fred Smoot said that the Mississippi State coaches had told the Bulldogs (4-1, 2-1 SEC) that Auburn (5-1, 3-1) was a more physical team than they were.
"We think we're the most physical team," said the senior cornerback. "We had to go out and prove it."
Johnson entered the game averaging 143.2 yards. The junior college transfer had surpassed 100 yards rushing in each of his first five Division I-A games. Mississippi State came in allowing just 26 yards a game rushing and was determined to keep Johnson from extending his streak.
"They ain't been hit like that," Smoot said. "And I know for a fact Rudi Johnson ain't been hit like that."
Coming off a game in which they held Florida to minus-78 yards rushing, the Bulldogs were even better Saturday. Mississippi State penetrated Auburn's offensive line consistently, rarely giving the 230-pound Johnson a chance to pick up a head of steam. Johnson ran 18 times and took a beating from a defense that missed few tackles. Auburn rushed for a total of 18 yards on 19 attempts.
"They did a great job flowing to the football," Johnson said.
Johnson wasn't the only Tiger to take a pounding. The Bulldogs hammered Auburn's receivers, often jarring loose passes, and kept quarterback Ben Leard under steady pressure.
"Our goal is to pursue the ball, 11 guys running to the football," said Mississippi State linebacker Mario Haggan, who was usually free to run to the ball carrier while Bulldogs defensive linemen manhandled Auburn blockers.
The Tigers fueled an already charged up bunch of Bulldogs when a group of Auburn players -- responding to some pregame taunts by Mississippi State -- did a Terrell Owens-type stomp on Mississippi State's 'M' logo before the game.
"All those licks that got laid today, they were personal," Smoot said.
Auburn gained only 164 yards and did not have a first down in the first half. Mississippi State had 343 total yards.
Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville apologized to Tigers fans who made the trip 238-mile trip from Auburn to Starkville to see their team play.
"I thought the kicking game was good," he said. "Other than that, we should have left everybody else at home."
1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH FINAL
--- --- --- --- -----
Auburn 0 0 0 10 10
Mississippi State 3 14 0 0 17
First Quarter
MSU-FG Westerfield 29, 5:13.
Second Quarter
MSU-Griffith 42 pass to Madkin (Westerfield kick), 12:00.
MSU-Fant 1 run (Westerfield kick), 2:16.
Fourth Quarter
Aub-FG Duval 19, 11:09.
Aub-Johnson 1 run (Duval kick), 8:50.
Aub MSU
--- ---
First downs 7 17
Rushes-yards 19-18 42-135
Passing 146 208
Comp-Att-Int 17-32-0 18-31-1
Return Yards 13 41
Punts-Avg. 10-42 5-40
Fumbles-Lost 2-0 2-2
Penalties-Yards 8-64 5-40
Time of Possession 26:25 33:35
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING-Auburn, Ru. Johnson 18-26, Leard 1-(minus 8). Mississippi
St., Miller 20-136, Walker 12-27, Madkin 3-3, Fant 1-1, Jenkins
1-(minus 2), Ju. Griffith 2-(minus 2), team 2-(minus 5), Cole
1-(minus 23).
PASSING-Auburn, Leard 17-32-0-146. Mississippi St., Madkin
16-27-1-197, Fant 2-4-0-11.
RECEIVING-Auburn, Daniels 5-32, Carter 3-46, C. Robinson 2-21,
Evans 2-8, Willis 2-4, Ro. Johnson 1-27, Diamond 1-9, Ru. Johnson
1-(minus 1). Mississippi St., Grindle 5-50, Lindsey 4-23, Miller,
3-36, Walker 3-34, D. Lee 2-24, Ju. Griffith 1-41.
A-43,917.