Auburn walks into Saturday with the kind of test that doesn’t leave much room for error.
The Tigers already have one top-ranked road win on the board, and now they get another crack at a ranked opponent when they visit No. 12 Ole Miss. It’s Auburn’s fourth straight game against a ranked team, a run coach Alex Golesh says is exactly the sort of grind that comes with the territory.
“Every week is a challenge,” Golesh said. “It's why you come here, to play the best of the best. Really well coached football team and in a big way, a football team that knows how to win.”
That challenge starts with Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, who is back in the Heisman conversation after finishing eighth in last season’s voting while leading the Rebels to the College Football Playoff semifinals. Auburn defensive coordinator DJ Durkin didn’t hold back his view of what the Rebels bring.
“Definitely one of the best players if not the best player in the country,” Durkin said. “He’s very comfortable with the offense, he knows where to go with the ball, really accurate throwing whether it’s from the pocket or on the move. When he gets out of the pocket, he can beat you running but he keeps his eyes downfield and can create explosive plays that way.”
For Auburn, the offensive mission is clear: protect the ball again and find a way to get the run game moving after last week’s struggles against LSU, the SEC’s top rush defense. The Tigers are aiming for a third straight turnover-free performance, but they’ll have to do it against Ole Miss, which sits at the bottom of the league in rush defense.
“You’re going to have to push people around up front,” Auburn offensive coordinator Joel Gordon said. “We’re going to have to get them worn down, whatever it takes to do that. They’ve played in some big football games, they’ve been in that spotlight before, and they have the experience of playing together.
“They play with a bunch of confidence and you’ve got to break their will on offense to change that. You have to affect the game on offense to create explosives, score points and get those guys to doubt themselves a little bit.”
Auburn and Ole Miss are meeting again after a two-year break, with kickoff set for Saturday at 11:45 a.m. CT at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford. The game will air on SEC Network and the Auburn Sports Network, with Andy Burcham, Jason Campbell and Ronnie Brown on the call.
Golesh said Wednesday that Auburn’s mindset has to stay sharp through the week and into Saturday if it wants the right result.
“The intent week to week and the focus week to week, it’s got to be elite or the end result is not going to be in your favor,” Golesh said Wednesday in his final media availability of the week. “They’ve been really intentional. You’ve got to be physical, but you’ve also got to monitor guys being fresh because our best shot is to go play really fast too.”
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Pete Golding Just Framed Auburns Biggest Opening Against Ole Miss
Pete Golding spent the lead-up to Week 9 zeroing in on the problem Auburn has become for opposing defenses, and it starts with Byrum Brown. The Ole Miss head coach pointed to the Tigers veer-and-shoot look as a real test of spacing, stressing how Browns ability to threaten defenses as both a passer and a runner forces snap-by-snap answers from a defense trying to stay sound.
For Auburn, the interesting part is how much the matchup may hinge on whether Ole Miss can live in man coverage and still commit enough bodies to the box without getting burned elsewhere. Golding also framed the game as a major one for the Rebels College Football Playoff chase, which only adds to the tension in a conference where every edge matters and Auburns offense has a chance to make the entire discussion uncomfortable. [Read more 🡒]
Auburn Faces A Major Test Against Ole Miss' Red-Hot Quarterback
Ole Miss comes into the matchup with a quarterback Auburn has plenty of reason to circle on the scouting report. Trinidad Chambliss has been one of the SECs most productive passers this season, leading the league in passing yards per game and total touchdowns while giving the Rebels a steady offensive pulse that has forced defenses to stay on their heels.
Auburn coach Alex Golesh singled out Chambliss footwork and composure in the pocket ahead of the game, a telling acknowledgment of how polished the challenge looks. For Auburns defense, the task is less about chasing raw numbers and more about finding a way to disrupt a quarterback who has been operating with confidence and control at the highest level of the conference. [Read more 🡒]
Auburn Has A New Reason To Watch Tahaad Pettiford Closely
Auburn has another clear reason to keep a close eye on Tahaad Pettiford this fall, with the guard earning a spot on the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year preseason watch list. After emerging as one of the Tigers most productive backcourt pieces last season, Pettiford enters the new year with the kind of recognition that usually comes with bigger expectations.
He already has more than 1,000 career points and 258 assists through two seasons, and Auburn will lean on that experience as it tries to get back to the NCAA Tournament. Pettifords playmaking and scoring touch were central to Auburns NIT Championship run, and the Tigers are counting on him to be even more important if they want this next step to feel like a return rather than a rebuild. [Read more 🡒]