By Andrew Edwards
Staff Writer
With the Crimson Tide’s BYE this weekend, the state will shift its’ eyes solely onto the eleventh ranked Auburn Tigers (6-2) as they face off with the Ole Miss (3-5) …Black Bears? Rebels? Landsharks? I’m legitimately not sure at this point.
The Tigers, fresh off a loss to number one ranked LSU, look to regroup against a struggling Ole Miss squad that has lost four of their last five games.
But the talk around state for the last few days has been about the struggling Auburn offense – and rightfully so.
The issues start at the quarterback position. Yes, Bo Nix is a true freshman. Yes, he’s going to make mistakes. But we’re now on the ninth game of season, and the Auburn fanbase wants to see more progression rather than regression in his game.
Last weekend, Nix only completed 15-35 passes for 157 yards with one touchdown and one interception. This was against one of the weaker LSU defenses in recent history. This would have been the perfect time for Nix to break out of his shell and support a defense that has done nothing but kept its’ team in games this season. Instead, the Tigers QB had a lackluster performance in a game that, it the offense simply had played slightly above average, Auburn would have won.
Ole Miss had a BYE last weekend after a hard-fought loss against Texas A&M. There were signs of improvement as their much-maligned defense held the aggies to only 24 points. In that game, they even out gained the aggies in yardage 405-337 but failed to capitalize on several occasions. That capitalization will be key this weekend against the best defense in the SEC, as Ole miss cannot find themselves settling for field goals.
Prediction
Auburn may be feeling a bit tired after an extremely physical game against LSU, but that shouldn’t stop them from roughing up an Ole Miss team that simply doesn’t have as much talent as the Tigers. The Auburn defense should step again once, as it has done all season. I also expect a better game from Nix.
Score: Auburn 42 Ole Miss 16
