STARKVILLE, Miss. • Cameron Newton threw two touchdown passes and accounted for 206 total yards to help No. 21 Auburn beat Mississippi State 17-14 on Thursday night in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams.

Mississippi State's last drive ended at the Auburn 40 when Chris Relf's fourth-down pass fell incomplete with 22 seconds remaining.

Newton, a 6-foot-6, 250-pound junior, outgained Mississippi State 146-125 all by himself in the first half. After leading 17-7 halftime, the Tigers managed to hold off the Bulldogs for the win.

Auburn (2-0) has won 17 of its past 18 SEC openers. The Tigers outgained the Bulldogs 348-246. Mississippi State (1-1) hasn't won its first two games in a season since 2000.

Hokies look to rebound

Virginia Tech can't wait to play its next football game.

The No. 13 Hokies' pain at losing to No. 3 Boise State on a late Broncos touchdown Monday night was magnified during film study that highlighted a series of costly mistakes.

Coach Frank Beamer brought a list of the errors to his media session. He cited miscues like a fumble that gave Boise State possession at the Hokies' 31, a blocked kick that set them up at the Hokies' 12 and allowing a 71-yard touchdown on a third down.

And that's only a fraction of the issues the Hokies had in their third consecutive season-opening loss, this time in a game they led until 1:09 to play.

Safety Davon Morgan can't wait until Saturday, when James Madison (1-0) comes to Lane Stadium looking take advantage of the Hokies' short work week.

"I'm a little sore, but I'm anxious to get after it," Morgan said. "I've still got a sour taste in my mouth, so I'm looking to knock some heads a little bit and go play some ball."

So is quarterback Tyrod Taylor, who said: "Because of the loss, our team is ready to go out there and prove to people that the team that they saw is not the team that it's going to be all year."