In an SEC West showdown that came down to the fourth quarter, quarterback Cameron Newton and a stingy defense led Auburn to 17-14 road win over Mississippi State at Wade Davis Stadium.

The 6-6, 250-pound Newton threw two touchdown passes and led the 2-0 Tigers in rushing for a second straight game.

With the game tied 7-7 in the second quarter, the Bulldogs turned the ball over on consecutive drives. Auburn capitalized with a Newton touchdown pass to Darvin Adams and a 34-yard field goal by Wes Byrum to take a 17-7 lead into halftime.

In front of an enthusiastic home crowd with ringing cowbells, Mississippi State (1-1) opened the second half with its best drive of the night. Quarterback Chris Relf accounted for 62 of 67 yards on the 13-play drive. Vick Ballard’s short touchdown run cut the lead to 17-14.

But that’s all Auburn’s defense would allow.

Newton, the reigning SEC Player of the Week, completed 11 of 19 passes for 136 yards and added 69 rushing yards on 18 carries.

Chris Relf and Tyler Russell shared snaps in Mississippi State’s two-quarterback platoon. Neither had much success sustaining drives against Auburn’s defense. Relf was inaccurate, completing 12 of 26 passes for 109 yards. He was sacked three times.Russell, the herald true freshman pocket passer, connected on only 4 of 9 attempts for 19 yards.