Auburn gets another chance to make noise under the Halloween lights, and this one comes with plenty on the line for both sides.
The Tigers head to Oxford with a 4-3 record and a 2-3 mark in SEC play, and they’ve actually handled Oct. 31 pretty well over the years. Since 1970, Auburn is 5-2-1 in games played on Halloween, according to the research cited here. That’s a quirky little edge in a week that already feels different, with the calendar giving college football its last Saturday Halloween until 2037.
This matchup also lands at an awkward spot for Mississippi. The Rebels are still hanging around the playoff conversation in a crowded group of two-loss SEC teams, but another defeat would make the path much tougher with Georgia coming to town next week. They’ll have to do it without star running back Kewan Lacy, who was ruled out in Wednesday’s availability report after separating a shoulder in last week’s loss at Texas.
Auburn is coming off a rough one of its own, a 38-17 loss to LSU that came in Jordan-Hare Stadium and left plenty to sort out. Still, there’s a little more room to breathe now: the Tigers are favored in their next three games and need two more wins to become bowl eligible. Pulling an upset in Oxford would be a bonus on top of that.
The pick here is Mississippi 31, Auburn 17. A road win against a team this talented is a tough ask, and the betting line reflects that as Auburn enters as a 12.5-point underdog even without Lacy in the lineup.
Elsewhere in the SEC, there’s only one ranked-on-ranked showdown this week, and it comes with a wrinkle. No.
17 Florida meets No. 3 Georgia at 2:30 p.m.
CT on ABC in Atlanta because the Jacksonville stadium is under construction, which means the rivalry is moving for the next two years. Georgia is nearly a two-touchdown favorite, but Florida has been dangerous.
The pick: Georgia has something to prove.
South Carolina travels to Oklahoma at 3:15 p.m. CT on SEC Network in a game that matches a hot team against an offense that still hasn’t shown much life.
The Gamecocks have been rolling, while the Sooners’ attack remains a problem. The pick: Cocks rock the prairie.
Mississippi State goes to No. 11 Texas at 6:30 p.m.
CT on ESPN, and that sets up as a brutal spot for the Bulldogs. Kamario Taylor is out for the season, Mississippi State is on a three-game losing streak, and the offense has vanished.
The pick: Texas.
No. 23 Missouri visits Arkansas at 6:45 p.m.
CT on SEC Network. Arkansas comes in rested after a 10-point road win at Vanderbilt, while Missouri is looking to rebound after getting humbled in Oxford two weeks ago and should be sharper after its open week.
The pick: Missouri.
Outside the league, the day starts fast in the Big Ten with No. 25 Wisconsin at Iowa at 11 a.m. on Fox, Illinois at Maryland, and Michigan at Rutgers at 11:30 a.m. on BTN.
Minnesota at Indiana at 2:30 p.m. on CBS will tell us a lot about what kind of offense Indiana can bring after putting up nothing last week at Michigan. The biggest Big Ten game is No.
2 Ohio State at USC at 6:30 p.m. on NBC, with the Buckeyes dealing with life without starting QB Julian Sayin.
The Big 12 also offers a ranked matchup with No. 22 Arizona at No.
13 Texas Tech at 11 a.m. on ESPN, a game with extra sting after the Red Raiders were whipped at Cincinnati last week. That helps put more attention on undefeated No.
6 Utah at Cincinnati at 2:45 p.m. on ESPN.
In the ACC, the slate is light. No.
19 SMU visits Syracuse at 11 a.m. on ESPN2, and No. 1 Miami heads to North Carolina at 6:30 p.m. on ABC.
Notre Dame, ranked fifth, gets Navy at 11 a.m. CT on ABC in Foxborough, where the Midshipmen enter at 2-5 with just one win over FBS opponents.
In Other News...
Auburn Heads To Ole Miss With One Big Chance To Respond
Auburn heads to Ole Miss still trying to settle things down after the LSU loss, and the trip gives the Tigers a quick chance to show the last outing was more of a stumble than a trend. The matchup also puts a few key players in the spotlight, with Byrum Brown, Jeremiah Cobb, Elijah Melendez, Andre Jordan Jr. and Cole Best all expected to have a hand in helping Auburn clean up the issues that showed up last week.
The challenge in Oxford is simple enough to understand and harder to execute: the Tigers need sharper play on both sides of the ball, especially in areas where LSU exposed some cracks. Ole Miss offers a different set of problems and a fresh test of whether Auburn can make better use of the opportunities in front of it, and the response from that group of players could go a long way toward shaping how this stretch of the season is remembered. [Read more 🡒]
Auburn Basketball Now Has A Front Office Problem Before The Season
Auburn basketball is dealing with an unexpected front-office shakeup before the season even gets going, with the program parting ways with general manager Brian Kloman after an issue tied to international transfer Mantas Rubtaviius college coursework in Europe. The fallout was significant enough that Rubtaviius dismissed his lawsuit against the NCAA, and his path to playing for Auburn this season closed with that ineligibility ruling.
For Steven Pearls staff, the timing only adds to an already tricky stretch of roster management and administrative work. Pearl said the duties Kloman had been handling will now be spread around by committee, with the staff keeping its current structure intact as it absorbs the extra load and tries to move on from a situation that has already altered Auburns plans. [Read more 🡒]
Auburn's Best Hope At Ole Miss Might Test Everything Saturday
Auburn heads to Ole Miss on Saturday trying to steady itself after a recent loss, and the numbers do not exactly suggest an easy road trip. ESPNs Matchup Predictor gives the Tigers just a 25.1% chance to win, while the Rebels are still pushing to protect their place in the College Football Playoff conversation. Add in the history between these two programs and the setting suddenly feels bigger than a typical late-season SEC game.
Still, Auburn has one path that could make this far more interesting than the forecast suggests. The Tigers may be able to lean on the running game against an Ole Miss defense that can be stressed there, and if that matchup holds, it could at least give Auburn a way to keep the game uncomfortable deep into Saturday. The question is whether that edge is enough to turn a difficult assignment into a needed response after last weeks setback. [Read more 🡒]