AUBURN, Ala. -- Jackie Sherrill would love for Mississippi State's offense to start clicking on all cylinders. But with the way his defense has been playing, he'll take what he can get.

	Jackie Sherill coached at Texas A&M before taking over at Mississippi State.

For 57 minutes last Saturday, the Bulldogs' offense was nonexistent against Auburn. They couldn't move the ball and trailed 16-3 in the waning moments.

Thanks to the nations' top-ranked defense, they were never out of the game. Each time the Bulldogs' offense stalled, their defense held Auburn.

Then, with less than 2½ minutes to play, the Bulldogs finally got something from their offense. Backup quarterback Matt Wyatt threw two touchdowns and Auburn gave away two free points on an intentional safety as the Bulldogs rallied for an 18-16 win.

It moved Mississippi State (6-0, 3-0 SEC) to 6-0 for the first time in 55 years, up two spots to No. 12, and in a tie with No. 11 Alabama for the lead in the SEC West.

"I think when it comes down to it, you have to put yourself in a position to win," Sherrill said. "I think we did that, and it was evident in the toughness of these players."

The Bulldogs did it with a veteran defense -- they start seven seniors -- that has held opponents to an average of nine points a game. They're allowing just 198.8 total yards a game, only 48 of which are on the ground.

Against Auburn (3-3, 1-3), Mississippi State's defense lived up to its ranking. It held the Tigers without a first down until the final play of the first quarter, and a total of nine for the entire game.

When Auburn had its best scoring chances -- on an interception return and a blocked punt -- the Tigers had to settle for field goals.

Sherrill had so much faith in the play of his defense, he decided to kick off rather than go for an on-sides kick after Wyatt's 16-yard touchdown pass pulled the Bulldogs within 16-10 with 2:28 to play.

"The defense believed we could keep Auburn from scoring and give our offense a chance to win," said defensive end Cornell Menafee. "As long as we could get our offense back on the field, we could pull it out."

The defense delivered, forcing Auburn to give the ball back after three running plays gained just one yard.

The Tigers, fearing a blocked punt would give Mississippi State the win, instead ran the ball out of the end zone for a safety that made it 16-12 with 43 seconds to go.

"We felt like the only way they could score on us was block a punt or block a field goal, and we just made our minds up we were just going to run the clock," said Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville. "We won't second-guess ourselves. That's the way you play the game."

But for the first time all day, the Bulldogs had no trouble moving the ball. Pig Prather returned the ensuing kickoff 41 yards and four plays later Wyatt threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Matt Butler that gave them an 18-16 win.

"It's simple," said cornerback Fred Smoot, who intercepted Auburn quarterback Jeff Klein to end the game. "They came to play ball for two quarters and we came to play for four quarters."