OXFORD, Miss. — No. 12 Ole Miss turned a close game into a rout in the second half Saturday in Oxford, Miss., beating Auburn 45-15 behind a running game that wore the Tigers down.
The Rebels went into the locker room up just 14-9. Auburn had held the ball longer in the first half, about 16 minutes to 14, and had out-gained the home side in total offense.
That changed quickly after the break. Ole Miss added a field goal, Auburn answered with a Byrum Brown touchdown run that made it 17-15 with 6:20 left in the third quarter, and then the Tigers came up empty on the two-point try after a false start pushed them back to the 7.
From there the Rebels found the end zone on four straight possessions while Auburn went three-and-out twice in a row.
The ground game told the story. Even without its starting running back, Ole Miss piled up 224 rushing yards on 49 carries, a 4.6-yard average, and scored four touchdowns on the ground. Auburn managed only 63 yards on 27 attempts, a 2.3-yard average, and its lead back, Jeremiah Cobb, did not carry the ball again after the third-quarter touchdown.
Auburn also hurt itself with mistakes. The Tigers had an extra point blocked after their first score and lost a fumble two plays after an interception of Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss gave them the ball back.
The 45 points were the most anyone has scored on Auburn this season, and the 15 were the Tigers’ lowest total of the year. It was Auburn’s second straight loss by 20 points or more, dropping the Tigers to 4-4 overall and 2-4 in the SEC with three losses in their last four games.
For Ole Miss, the win keeps the Rebels in the hunt for a College Football Playoff spot as the season heads into November.
Section: More Oxford MS sports news
Filed under: Oxford MS Sports News
