How Does Auburn Beat Ole Miss Today?

Today is a season-defining day for the Auburn Tigers. We will either beat Ole Miss and alter the course of the rest of the season, or we will drop our fourth straight and be in danger of going off the deep end. The stadium will be packed with not only fans, but also blue-chip recruits looking for motivation to choose Auburn as their next destination. A big win today would propel us to more wins this season AND more wins for years to come. Needless to say, this is a big game for Freeze and the Tigers.

Can Auburn pull it off?

Absolutely. We are looking to bounce back after a horrendous loss in Baton Rouge, and what better place to do so than in Jordan Hare. Everyone knows that "Auburn Jesus" has a tendency of giving Auburn miraculous ways to win football games. Truth is, I don't think we need Auburn Jesus to win this one. I think if this staff commits to a gameplan and the players execute it, we can come out on top.

So what is that gameplan?

I'll start with the offensive side of the ball. Auburn is going to need to control the ball for four quarters. We absolutely cannot have three-and-out's. This Ole Miss offense ranks third in the SEC in total yards per game, and Auburn's offense ranks second to last. We are not going to beat Ole Miss in a high-scoring shootout. We are going to have to pound the rock and run the clock. Of course, Ole Miss knows this, so they will load the box with about 8 guys and try and force Auburn to throw the ball. Every team does this, as it is no secret that Auburn struggles in the passing game. In fact, Auburn ranks last in the SEC in passing yards per game by almost 50 yards. Embarrassingly bad. However, even though every opponent so far has dared Auburn to throw the ball, we are still top half in the SEC in rushing yards per game. I have seen this offense move the ball on the ground. If the offensive line will get a push and if they can play a clean game with limited penalties, we will be able to run the football. I personally think Ashford will get lots of snaps today since he has had so much success running the read option, but who really knows at this point who is going to get the majority of the QB snaps. This Ole Miss rushing defense is far from elite. They rank 47th nationally in rush defense. If we can successfully pound the rock and be at least competent when throwing the ball, we can win this game.

On defense, the Tigers will have to limit the big plays. Ole Miss finished the game against Auburn last year with 578 total yards of offense and 448 rushing yards. They had three guys run for over 100 yards, and two of those guys are back this year. We got absolutely gutted on the ground, but that was a different defense. I think this defense can stop the run. They struggled against LSU last week, but I'm hoping that they will use that as motivation to tighten up and get some stops against another explosive offense in Ole Miss. They are going to score. We just have to make them earn it. Limit the deep balls, and limit the 20+ yard runs.

Ole Miss is favored in this one, and for good reason. They have a talented team and they have beat some talented teams, including LSU. However, this is Jordan Hare Stadium. This is one of the most difficult environments to play in in the entire country. Let's use that to our advantage, and let's see if we can execute our gameplan and pull off the upset.