Auburn’s path to another upset in Oxford is pretty clear: run the football and keep running it.
That’s the opening the Tigers are staring at against Ole Miss, a team that sits last in the SEC in run defense and has given up 161.1 rushing yards per game. Auburn has not exactly been lighting it up on the ground itself, but this matchup gives Alex Golesh’s team a chance to reset that part of the offense in a big way.
The numbers from last week tell the story. Auburn managed only 67 rushing yards in a 38-17 loss to LSU, and that kind of production won’t be enough if the Tigers want to leave with a win.
Ole Miss is a different challenge than LSU up front, though, and the Rebels have already shown they can be had on the ground. Texas ran for 207 yards against them, and Florida’s top two backs combined for 268 rushing yards on 41 carries.
That’s where Auburn has to be sharper. Jeremiah Cobb and Omar Mabson have both shown flashes, and both are averaging about five yards per carry, but neither has gotten the volume many expected coming into the season. Auburn needs more touches for both backs if it wants any kind of rhythm on offense.
So far, too much of the rushing load has fallen on Byrum Brown. His legs remain a major part of what Auburn does, and the quarterback has the ability to pile up more than 100 rushing yards.
But the Tigers can’t let the offense become too one-dimensional there. LSU already showed how effective a defense can be when it takes away Brown’s running ability.
A more balanced ground game would do more than just help Auburn move the ball. It could also help keep Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss off the field for longer stretches. That matters in a game like this, where Auburn is trying to control tempo and make the most of a defense that has been vulnerable all season against the run.
The formula is simple enough. If Cobb and Mabson get more chances, Auburn has a better shot at building offensive consistency. If Brown remains the only real threat on the ground, the Tigers make life easier on Ole Miss.
For Auburn, the biggest weakness is right there in front of them. Now it has to be attacked.
In Other News...
Auburn's Offense Just Took Another Hit Before Ole Miss Matchup
Auburns receiver room got a little thinner heading into a tricky SEC road test, with Jeremiah Koger ruled out for the matchup against Ole Miss. He now joins Tai Buster and Hunter Herring on the injury report, leaving the Tigers to piece together their offense with another available option off the board as they prepare for one of the leagues more demanding environments.
Ole Miss is dealing with its own roster issues, too, and the availability report has already trimmed the Rebels down by 10 players, including running back Kewan Lacy. Even with both teams shorthanded, the absences matter on a weekend when depth and flexibility can swing the tenor of a conference game, and Auburn will have to find answers without one more name it was hoping to have. [Read more 🡒]
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 🡒]