The Auburn Tigers entered Saturday’s game with No. 12 Ole Miss in search of their first SEC win. For a half, it appeared to be in sight.
However, the goal was short-lived as Ole Miss pulled away from the Tigers in the second half to earn a 28-21 win on Saturday night at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn.
Auburn (3-4, 0-4 SEC) tied the game at 14-14 early in the 2nd quarter, which remained the score until halftime. Ole Miss (6-1, 3-1 SEC) went on to outscore the Tigers, 14-7 in the second half to pull out the win.
Although Ole Miss won the game by one score, they dominated the yards game. The Rebels outgained the Tigers, 425-275 and recorded 18 more offensive plays. The largest discrepancy was in the passing game, as Ole Miss passed for 202 yards while holding Auburn to 102 yards.
[autotag]Robby Ashford[/autotag] started the game for the Tigers at quarterback and was trusted to run the entire first drive. He completed two pass attempts for 16 yards and rushed for 11 yards. However, he was halted on a fourth down play at midfield to end the initial drive.
The Rebels first drive saw them commit four penalties. However, it affected them minimally as they were able to score. Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart connected with Zakhari Franklin from 11 yards away to put his squad ahead, 7-0 with 4:55 remaining in the opening quarter.
Ole Miss’ lead was short-lived, as [autotag]Jarquez Hunter[/autotag] sprinted 53-yards on the fifth play of Auburn’s next drive to tie the game. Payton Thorne did not attempt a pass on his first drive, but managed to rush for 13 yards.
Dart responded on the next drive by rushing 29 yards to push Ole Miss back in front, 14-7 to end the first quarter. The score came on a 4th down and 1 play, and Dart rushed up the middle to score.
The lone score of the 2nd quarter belonged to Auburn. With 11:41 remaining in the first half, Hunter scored his second touchdown of the night out of the wildcat formation to tie the game at 14-14. Hunter ended the first half with 63 yards on nine carries.
It took a while for either team to find pay dirt in the 3rd quarter, but Ole Miss was able to retake the lead as the quarter expired. Dart scored his third touchdown, his second on the ground, to cap a eight-play, 90-yard drive. The Rebels gained 118 yards of total offense in the 3rd quarter while Auburn managed to gain just 14.
The nail in the coffin was driven in with 7:51 remaining in the 4th quarter. Running back Quinshon Judkins scored his first touchdown of the game by rushing four yards to extend the Rebels’ lead to 28-14.
Auburn was able to put one more score on the board with 0:56 to go in the contest. Tight end Rivaldo Fairweather caught the first receiving touchdown of the game to cut the lead to 28-21. Auburn’s onside kick attempt failed, thus ending the game.
Auburn passed for just 122 yards in the game, with Thorne leading the way with 100 yards. Hunter was the team’s leading receiver and rusher. He recorded 54 yards through the air while rushing for 91 yards.
Defensively, Auburn recorded eight tackles for loss. Marcus Harris led the way with two tackles behind the line of scrimmage, and finished with seven total stops. Larry Nixon led the team with eight total tackles.
Auburn returns to Jordan-Hare Stadium next Saturday to face Mississippi State at 2:30 p.m. CT. The Bulldogs pulled off a defensive win on Saturday, knocking off Arkansas, 10-7.