Auburn and Ole Miss are tied 14-14 at halftime as the two battle on an unseasonably cold day in Oxford.
Here are some rapid reactions to the first half:
- I’m sure that, much like myself, all Auburn fans stayed calm after the first drive when we saw absolutely zero of Tank Bigsby on the field on a three-and-out. I understand giving Shaun Shivers the chance, though.
- Neither of these teams can defend the run and it is both amazing and miserable to watch. Even when Auburn or Ole Miss know that the run is coming, they still can’t stop it. Expect that to continue in the second half.
- Chad Morris needs a lesson in clock management.
- Seth Williams and Bo Nix seemed to work through their problems from last week but if you listen to the SEC Network announcers, it was as if the two were still fighting like the Hatfields and McCoys. Wait, is that still a thing?
- Speaking of Williams, holy cow what a leap over that Ole Miss defender. Bruce Pearl should sign him up just for tip-offs.
- That interception by Matt Corral on Ole Miss’ first drive was awful and shows someone that is inside his own head right now. Roger McCreary was right there yet Corral didn’t seem to see him.
- Okay, let’s talk about how special Tank has been. In the first 30 minutes, he is averaging 5.1 yards per rush. I’m still questioning why he is returning kickoffs.
- John Rhys Plumlee is not going to throw the ball. It is a lot like watching the 2018 Mississippi State game when you just knew that Nick Fitzgerald was going to run it. Somehow the Tigers can’t stop him and Ole Miss might continue with this two-quarterback system.
- The hurry-up is really affecting Auburn’s defense as the Rebels aren’t giving them a chance to make substitutions. Hmmm, didn’t we used to see that somewhere?
- If Nix throws the ball more than 25 times this game, it will be a coaching mistake. Ride the Tank! (And Shivers and D.J.)