Auburn will head to Oxford without one of its most productive pass catchers, as sophomore wide receiver Jeremiah Koger has been ruled out for Saturday’s matchup with Ole Miss in the SEC availability report released Friday.
Koger has been a steady piece of Auburn’s offense this season, piling up 14 catches for 230 yards across seven games. He’s averaging 16.4 yards per reception and has managed at least one grab in every game so far. Against LSU, he finished with two receptions for 30 yards in Auburn’s 38-17 loss.
His absence adds another problem for an Auburn offense that has had trouble finding any real rhythm during Alex Golesh’s first season.
The Tigers will also be without offensive lineman Tai Buster and tight end Hunter Herring, leaving Auburn with three players officially out for the game. Buster’s injury comes at a rough time for an offensive line that gave up seven sacks and 12 tackles for loss against LSU. Golesh said Buster is trending in the right direction and should be practicing soon.
Ole Miss, meanwhile, enters Saturday with a much longer injury list. The Rebels have 10 players ruled out, including star running back Kewan Lacy. They’ll also be missing wide receivers Izaiah Hartrup and Kervin Johnson Jr., plus several defensive pieces: cornerbacks Cedrick Beavers and Iverson McCoy, safeties Edwin Joseph, MJ Preston and Nascar McCoy, linebacker Ant Davis Jr., and offensive lineman Emanuel Faulkner.
Cornerback and former Auburn Tiger Jalyn Crawford is listed as questionable, while three other Ole Miss players are probable.
Lacy’s absence matters, but Golesh has already noted that the Rebels still have other running backs capable of carrying the load.
Auburn comes in off a frustrating night against LSU, but the Tigers have already shown they can land a big punch with their win over Georgia. Saturday gives them another chance, though they’ll need a far sharper showing than the one they put together last week.
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Auburns Defense And QB Situation Suddenly Look Far More Fragile
Ole Miss walked out of Vaught-Hemingway Stadium with a 45-15 win over Auburn, and the Rebels did it with a quarterback who kept the Tigers off balance in more ways than one. Trinidad Chambliss made his mark through both the air and on the ground, while Ole Miss coach Pete Golding had plenty of praise afterward for Chambliss and offensive coordinator John David Baker, whose plan helped keep Auburn chasing the game from early on.
For Auburn, the bigger concern was how little rhythm the offense found while Byrum Brown was under steady pressure. The Tigers never got much going on the ground, and the combination of a shaky quarterback situation and a defense that bent far too often made the loss feel bigger than the score alone. It left Auburn with more questions than answers at a point in the season when stability is supposed to matter most. [Read more 🡒]
Auburn's Second-Half Collapse Just Raised Bigger Questions About This Offense
Auburns trip to Oxford ended with a lopsided 45-15 loss to No. 12 Ole Miss, a result that did more than just deepen the frustration from one rough afternoon. It also marked the Tigers first two-game losing streak under coach Alex Golesh, with the offense again unable to keep pace after showing flashes early enough to keep the game within reach.
Byrum Brown finished with 195 passing yards, but Auburn never found enough consistency to put real pressure on Ole Miss, where Trinidad Chambliss controlled the game with 263 passing yards and three total touchdowns. The bigger concern now is how quickly Auburn can reset before Arkansas comes to Jordan-Hare Stadium on November 7, because the margin for error on that side of the ball has started to shrink. [Read more 🡒]
Auburn Fans Are Running Out Of Patience After Another SEC No Show
Another rough Saturday in Oxford left Auburn searching for answers again, and the frustration is starting to feel familiar. The Tigers were beaten 45-15 by Ole Miss, a second straight blowout loss that exposed the same problems in too many phases, from penalties to protection up front to an offense that never found much traction on the ground.
Auburn managed only 63 rushing yards and now sits at 4-4 overall and 2-4 in SEC play, a record that leaves little margin for error as the season moves on. The next chance to steady things comes against Arkansas, but after another SEC no-show, the bigger question is whether this team can finally show enough fight to calm a restless fan base. [Read more 🡒]