Gus Malzahn didn’t have to say much to his team this week.

The Tigers know what happened a year ago in Starkville, Miss. Just to be sure, though, Auburn’s seventh-year head coach didn’t mince any words Tuesday when discussing this weekend’s game against Mississippi State.

“Playing a very good Mississippi State team; a team that really just, bottom line, embarrassed us last year,” Malzahn said. “They just lined up and whipped us…. That was a tough one.”

Auburn fell to Mississippi State, 23-9, last October. It was a game that the Bulldogs dominated even more than the final score indicated, too.

Mississippi State rushed for 349 yards, including 195 from quarterback Nick Fitzgerald, who ran for two scores that night at Davis Wade Stadium while delivering the Tigers a heavy dose of quarterback runs from spread-out formations. Auburn, meanwhile, rushed for just 90 yards, gave up three sacks and committed four fumbles, losing two of them.

“You really don’t have to say anything,” Malzahn said. “They know exactly what happened. We left that thing, and they embarrassed us, as a team now. It was the whole deal…. We pride ourselves on winning up front. You’ve just got to do it. They’re a good team. I don’t have to say much. Our guys know.”

It’s a loss that has stuck with Auburn over the last year, as it was the first of back-to-back losses that really derailed the Tigers’ goals in 2018. The following week, Auburn had an inexplicable loss to a Tennessee team that hadn’t won an SEC game in more than a year — losing 11 straight conference games before upsetting Auburn.

“There's nothing to speak about,” Auburn defensive tackle Derrick Brown said. “You know what happened last year. It's just time to go to work.”

That night in Starkville, Auburn allowed 6.1 yards per rush against Mississippi State and was outgained in time of possession, 41:53 to 18:07. It was a thorough win for the Bulldogs and, as Malzahn put it Tuesday, an embarrassing loss for the Tigers, who entered the game ranked eighth in the country.

“That was a bad game, top to bottom, really everywhere,” right tackle Jack Driscoll said. “It’s something that we’re really going to hold a grudge on this week, because like you said, we got embarrassed and that’s unacceptable — offense, defense, special teams, everyone included. So, you know, this week we know we have another challenge in front of us. It’s nice it’ll be at home. We played there last year and it’s a hostile place to play and whatnot…. But, um, yeah, we always play with a chip on our shoulder.”

No. 7 Auburn (4-0, 1-0 SEC) will look to avenge that loss on Saturday, when Mississippi State (3-1, 1-0 SEC) visits Jordan-Hare Stadium, with kickoff set for 6 p.m. on ESPN.

“It’s a new year,” Malzahn said. “It’s completely a new year, but at the same time, when you have experiences, whether you’re a player or coach, you remember. And we’ve got to respond.”

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.