OFFENSE: B
The Ole Miss offense led by Bo Wallace piled up yards and points despite a one-dimensional attack and a couple turnovers. Bo Wallace bounced back from a rough week against LSU and compiled 360 yards on 70% passing along with 56 yards on the ground. Wallace did enough to win the game against one of the top teams in the country, but two key turnovers prevented the Rebels from locking up the victory in front of their home crowd. Despite being under pressure much of the night against the Auburn defense, Wallace distributed the ball effectively to the Ole Miss playmakers as three Ole Miss players – Engram, Treadwell and Sanders – each had over 100 receiving yards.
DEFENSE: C
Following its most physical game of the season against LSU, the Ole Miss defense came out strong and bottled up Nick Marshall and the Auburn attack much of the first half. Of the first six Auburn drives, Ole Miss forced four punts and one interception. Giving up a touchdown to Auburn at the end of the first half was an unfortunate end to a quality half of defense.
The physical toll endured by the Ole Miss defense during the previous six quarters was obvious in the second half as Auburn scored touchdowns on three of its first four drives. Overall, Gus Malzahn’s offense gobbled up 505 yards of offense against the Ole Miss defense which had been averaged 200 yards fewer (305 yards per game) on average as a unit in 2014.
Senquez Golson showed once again why he’s one of the best ball hawks in the SEC with his ninth interception on the year.
SPECIAL TEAMS: A-
Gary Wunderlich drilled a 47 yard field goal as the first half concluded. Kick coverage was well executed.
COACHING: B+
Hugh Freeze and the coaching staff had the Ole Miss team ready to play one week after a tough and heartbreaking loss to LSU. Perhaps the team received an encouraging boost when the Selection Committee ranked Ole Miss as one of the top four teams in the country mere days after losing to a two-loss LSU team. The Rebels fought hard against another quality SEC West opponent. The game plan was sound.
While the Ole Miss loss against LSU was followed with a number of questions regarding play calling and on-field execution, this wasn’t the case after the loss to Auburn. Rather, the two key plays (turnovers) were both a result of extended effort by the ball carrier: Bo Wallace as he stretched to get the first down and Laquon Treadwell as he battled for the end zone. The timing of the turnovers was too much to overcome.
OVERALL: B
The Rebels weren’t perfect, but they played well and hard against the reigning SEC West champs despite a physically demanding loss one week earlier at LSU. The team made plays to win, but on this night in Oxford, the breaks were to be had by Auburn. The Rebels have improvements to make as they look forward to the rest of November, but they can hold their heads high after the performance against Auburn.
A graduate of the University of Florida and founder of Saturday Down South, Kevin is a college football enthusiast.
