Auburn’s bounce-back assignment gets a lot harder when Ole Miss has a quarterback like Chambliss steering the offense. DJ Durkin’s comment this week said plenty about the challenge ahead, calling Chambliss “one of, if not the single, best players in football” earlier this week. The former Division II transfer has backed that up with a season that’s piled up nearly 2,000 passing yards and added a team-high six rushing touchdowns.
That dual-threat ability is exactly why the Tigers can’t afford to let him settle in. Even with Kewan Lacy sidelined, Chambliss gives Ole Miss a built-in answer if the ground game stalls. Auburn’s defense has to account for the quarterback as a runner and a passer, and that’s a tough ask for any unit, especially one coming off a rough night against LSU.
If the Rebels lean more heavily on the run game, Makhi Frazier is the name Auburn has to track. He’s handled 51 carries for 301 yards this season, a healthy 5.9 yards per rush, even if he’s still searching for his first touchdown.
That missing score doesn’t make him harmless, though. Auburn’s issues against opposing backs have been obvious, with DeSean Bishop going for more than 200 yards and three touchdowns and Jadan Baugh adding over 160 yards and three scores of his own.
Whether Frazier becomes the next problem in that pattern will come down to Cody Sigler and the rest of the front.
Then there’s Deuce Alexander, the receiver who gives Chambliss a reliable finishing piece. The junior, now in his second season with the Rebels after transferring from Wake Forest, leads the team with 43 catches for 610 yards and five touchdowns.
He’s averaging 14.2 yards per reception, and after what Auburn’s secondary allowed against Sam Leavitt last week, Ole Miss will like its chances of finding room through the air. A cleaner performance from the Tigers’ defensive backfield could slow things down, but Alexander still looks like the most likely Rebel to hit paydirt.
In Other News...
Auburns Ole Miss Collapse Drew A Pointed Response From Alex Golesh
Auburns trip to Ole Miss ended with a 45-15 loss that left Alex Golesh sounding every bit like a coach who knows his team is running out of margin for error. Afterward, he pointed to the Tigers lack of finish, noting the offense never found enough consistency to keep pace and that the running game never got going, with Auburn held to just 63 rushing yards.
Golesh also talked through offensive line changes and the kinds of costly mistakes that can swing a game off course, including penalties that made life harder throughout the afternoon. With bowl eligibility still in play, he challenged both players and coaches to clean things up quickly, because Auburn cannot afford many more second-half fades like the one it suffered against the Rebels. [Read more 🡒]
Auburns Biggest Problem Looks Worse Than A Talent Issue
Auburns 45-15 loss to Ole Miss did more than add another mark in the wrong column. It exposed a team still searching for basic stability, with penalties, special teams mistakes, offensive line inconsistency and a general lack of clean execution all piling up in a game that never felt close. Alex Golesh has already started making changes up front, a sign that the staff is trying to find answers quickly rather than wait for the problems to sort themselves out.
The bigger concern is that this does not look like a simple talent gap that can be fixed by one or two breakout performances. Auburns issue has become one of finishing and functioning, and the next stretch against Arkansas, Mississippi State and Samford will say a lot about whether the Tigers can turn that frustration into progress. Those games should offer a clearer read on how much of this is fixable and how much deeper the trouble really goes. [Read more 🡒]
Auburn Delivered The Kind Of SEC Road Finish Fans Love
Auburns trip to Fayetteville on Oct. 25 had the feel of a classic SEC road test, the kind that asks plenty of questions before it gives any answers. At Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium, the Tigers handled Arkansas 33-24 behind a mix of contributions from Cam Coleman, Jackson Arnold, Ashton Daniels and Jeremiah Cobb, a balanced showing that gave Auburn enough offense to keep control through the finish.
For Hugh Freeze, it was the sort of result that can travel well in conference play, especially with Auburn getting production from multiple spots instead of leaning on one player alone. Arkansas interim coach Bobby Petrino was on the other sideline as the Tigers closed out a win that should resonate with fans who value a tough road finish, even if the bigger picture in the SEC still has plenty of work ahead. [Read more 🡒]