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Here are five takeaways from the Ole Miss home loss against Auburn on Saturday night:
1. Watch Ole Miss during the rest of November. Ole Miss rebounded after the LSU loss. Can they rebound again after this punch to the gut? The loss to Auburn is a tough one to swallow not only because the team played well at home against the reigning SEC champs, but also because Ole Miss got into the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown which was ultimately reversed by the referees (called a fumble). The loss of Treadwell on the same play makes it one of the toughest single plays for a football program that I can remember.”It’s just a really, really sickening way to lose,” Freeze said. How this team rebounds against Arkansas and Mississippi State in a few weeks will be telling about the make up of this team and Hugh Freeze’s leadership.
2. The loss of Treadwell is tragic. On a night in which Laquon Treadwell had double digit receptions for the first time in his career at Ole Miss (10 catches for 103 yards), the gruesome injury which ended the season for Treadwell was tough to watch for all football fans. The guy was a go-to receiver for Wallace all night and played a big role in the Rebels fighting until the end against Auburn. Watching Treadwell catch balls and dodge defenders on the field of play is special. We can only hope he has a speedy and full recovery.
3. Bo Wallace was a gamer on the big stage. Is he perfect? No, but plenty of teams around the country would love to have Bo Wallace leading their squad. Despite a rough outing against LSU one week prior, Wallace was excellent against Auburn. He completed 70% of his passes and was the only run threat for much of the game. His fumble was extremely costly, and Wallace deserves the blame for it. But, without Wallace last night, Ole Miss loses by double digits.
4. Balance continues to plague the Ole Miss offense. Ole Miss struggled to gain yardage on the ground outside a handful of key Bo Wallace scrambles. The Rebs gained 341 yards in the air and 151 on the ground. Auburn on the other hand had near perfect balance of 254 pass yards and 253 rush yards – also helping give the Tigers the edge on time of possession 32:11-27:49.
5. For the Landshark defense, the break from SEC play is timely. The nation’s top scoring defense was the only SEC West defense to not give up 20 points in a game entering Saturday’s contest. Back-to-back physical games against LSU and Auburn proved to be too much even for this elite squad. Auburn gashed Ole Miss for over 500 yards of offense. A game against Presbyterian followed up with a bye week will help the Ole Miss defense get back to full strength before squaring off against the physical offenses of Arkansas and Mississippi State.
A graduate of the University of Florida and founder of Saturday Down South, Kevin is a college football enthusiast.
