Ole Miss got the result it needed on Saturday, but the 45-15 final over Auburn didn’t tell the full story.
For stretches, the Rebels were hanging on more than they were controlling things. They led 14-9 at halftime, yet the defense had trouble getting Auburn off the field on third down in the first half.
Then, with a little more than six minutes left in the third quarter, Auburn punched in a touchdown to trim the margin to 17-15. The Tigers were one two-point conversion away from tying it before Ole Miss finally separated.
That’s the part that should have Ole Miss looking inward even after a conference win.
Through eight games, the Rebels’ defense has already given up enough headaches for a team with a defensive-minded head coach. The Auburn game added another layer, especially with Georgia coming to town next week.
Against the Tigers, Ole Miss did a solid job against the run on early downs, holding Auburn to 63 rushing yards. But the issues showed up elsewhere.
Byrum Brown kept plays alive with his legs, and that created problems for the Rebels. Auburn also found cracks in the secondary, including on Chas Nimrod’s touchdown catch in the second quarter.
The third-down numbers tell the story, too. Opponents are converting about 42 percent of their third-down chances against Ole Miss this season.
That’s not disastrous, but it’s enough to matter when the schedule tightens and the margin for error shrinks. If the Rebels want to protect their home winning streak and stay in the College Football Playoff mix, that area has to improve fast.
Georgia brings another quarterback who can stress a defense in similar ways. Gunner Stockton showed that last week against Florida, using his mobility to keep drives alive.
He averaged 3.8 yards per carry and finished with 45 yards on 12 attempts. If Ole Miss loses contain against him, he can hurt them both as a runner and as a passer.
With the Rebels’ secondary already showing some assignment issues this season, keeping Stockton bottled up has to be a major focus for Pete Golding’s group.
Stockton was limited on the ground in last season’s Sugar Bowl matchup, finishing with 20 rushing yards, but he still scored twice and threw for 203 yards. That’s the kind of dual-threat profile Ole Miss has to account for this week.
The Rebels have shown they can play better on defense, and the win over Missouri is part of that evidence. But against Texas and Auburn, the unit has looked off. At this point in the season, that can’t be brushed aside.
Saturday’s game is the biggest one on the schedule so far, and a loss would likely push Ole Miss to the wrong side of the CFP bubble. The Rebels have answered the bell at home before, but Georgia is a tough ask no matter where the game is played.
If Ole Miss wants to keep its playoff hopes on track, it needs cleaner third-down defense, better discipline against Stockton’s legs and fewer breakdowns in the secondary. Add the home-field edge, and the Rebels would give themselves a real chance to make a statement and build back some of the momentum that slipped away with the loss to Texas two weeks ago.
In Other News...
Ole Miss Just Got More Fuel For Its Georgia Showdown
Saturday night in Oxford already had the feel of a measuring-stick game, and now it comes with even more edge. No. 12 Ole Miss is set to host No. 2 Georgia in a Week 10 showdown that has been drawing plenty of attention since the early betting line opened with the Bulldogs favored by 3.5 points and the total sitting at 56.5 points.
Both teams arrive with momentum after recent wins, which only raises the stakes for a game that could say plenty about where Ole Miss stands in the national picture. For the Rebels, this is the kind of late-season stage that can sharpen a playoff rsum in a hurry, and it is exactly the sort of matchup fans in Oxford have been waiting for. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss Suddenly Has A Tony Mitchell Question It Didnt Expect
Ole Miss has a new roster issue to sort through after transfer linebacker Tony Mitchell was removed from the team in late September for reasons the program has not disclosed. Mitchell arrived in Oxford with plenty of name recognition, having once been a five-star recruit before stops at Mississippi State and East Mississippi Community College brought him back into the SEC picture.
He did appear in games for the Rebels, but he did not log any snaps in the 2025 season before his roster spot disappeared. For a team trying to keep its defensive depth intact, the timing makes Mitchell one more unexpected question to monitor as the season moves forward. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss Faces A Huge Kewan Lacy Problem Against Georgia
Kewan Lacys status has become one of the biggest Ole Miss storylines heading into a matchup with No. 2 Georgia, with coach Pete Golding saying the running back is unlikely to play because of a left shoulder injury. Lacy has been working back from a dislocated shoulder he sustained on Oct. 24, and he already sat out the previous game against Auburn, leaving the Rebels to adjust their backfield without one of their most important pieces.
If Lacy is held out again, Makhi Frazier and Shekai Mills-Knight are expected to split the rushing workload in his place. For Ole Miss, the issue is not just replacing carries, but trying to do it against a Georgia defense that rarely gives much away, which makes Lacys availability a key subplot as the Rebels prepare for one of their toughest tests. [Read more 🡒]