Ole Miss defeats Auburn as issues continue to show

The Ole Miss Rebels beat the Auburn Tigers, 48-34. Despite the score, this was another week where Ole Miss struggled to take down a bad opponent. Auburn was only down by one score, late in the third. Considering that Ole Miss’s goal is to compete for the SEC West title, allowing a 3-win team to be within one possession late in the third quarter is probably not a good sign.

Ole Miss defeats Auburn 48-34

The game started out with the Rebels taking care of business. They went up 21-0 early in the second quarter. Very quickly, Ole Miss had to Ole Miss and allowed Auburn to come back into the game. Auburn scored 14 straight unanswered points in the second quarter to make it a 21-14 game with 5 minutes to go in the second half.

Jaxson Dart and the rest of the Ole Miss offense responded with a TD of their own to make it 28-14 with 2 minutes left. Auburn drove the field quickly to make a field goal. The score was 28-17, Ole Miss at the half.

Considering the opponent, Ole Miss should have been up by more. Jaxson Dart and the rest of this offense just has too much talent for them to play mediocre against bad opponents. Auburn would score again to start the half and Ole Miss was in a little bit of trouble, only up by 4.

The Rebels would go down the field for a field goal, but the game was still one possession. Considering the opponent, it shouldn’t be a one-possession contest, this late in the game. Lane Kiffin decided to get a little crazy on the next kickoff, going for an onside kick. The play call was a little strange considering they were up by one possession, but it ended up working out as they got the ball back.

After the recovered kickoff, Quinshon Judkins would lead Ole Miss to a touchdown with his legs on the next drive. It seemed like finally, Ole Miss would start to pull away. This didn’t end up happening at least just yet. Robby Ashford and the rest of this Tigers running game would lead Auburn to a touchdown, making it a one-possession game once again.

Ole Miss’ offense would get humming once again but would have to settle for three this time after not being able to convert on 3rd and 5. Auburn would have its’ best chance to tie the game on this drive. Tank Bigsby would start off the drive with a huge 50-yard run.

The Tigers’ offense would stall after that huge play and would have to settle for three in the red zone. With only 9 minutes left, Auburn probably should have gone for it on fourth, considering Ole Miss’ offense hadn’t really been stopped all day.

Although you could make a case for going on it on the fourth, there was still a lot of time left on the clock. If you didn’t score a touchdown on fourth and goal, the game would’ve probably been over considering Ole Miss’ offense. Ole Miss would score a touchdown on their next drive. On the next possession, Auburn would throw an interception to end any hope for them to pull of the upset.

I am concerned about Ole Miss going forward. This isn’t the first time that the Rebels have allowed a mediocre opponent to play them close. This happened against Vanderbilt and Tulsa. While they are 7-0 and have a win against Kentucky, it’s really hard to pick them to win against the harder opponent. Coming up next, they have LSU, Texas A&M, Alabama, Arkansas, and Mississippi State.

While I think playing down to their opponent will be passable against LSU, Texas A&M, and probably Arkansas due to those teams having major issues as well, I don’t really give Ole Miss a shot against Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl or against Bama. Alabama does have its own issues but they are on a different level talent-wise than the rest of their opponents.

Based on the team I have seen play so far, I would have to favor Mississippi State due to their offense being more reliable. I trust the Bulldogs’ offense to be working all game, and I don’t have that same feeling for any part of the team for Ole Miss.

Quickly for Auburn, the situation is a mess, and Bryan Harsin needs to stop coaching this football team. Auburn has a lot of issues, especially in the athletic director position (as no one currently has that role). I would say three wins is pretty solid this far into the season, considering where the news is surrounding this program.

If Ole Miss wants to win the SEC West, they need to stop playing down to their opponents. The Rebels have potential, the question is if they can play up to it.