For the first time in the short tenure for Alex Golesh, Auburn has lost two consecutive games. For anyone who just looks at the score of 45-15 in favor of Ole Miss, they may think this game was just like a week ago versus LSU.
However, for almost three quarters, the Tigers were in position to earn another upset victory on the road. With 6:20 remaining in the third quarter, Auburn quarterback Byrum Brown scored a seven-yard rushing touchdown to get the Tigers within two points. Auburn then proceeded to attempt a two-point conversion to tie the game at 17 each, but a pre-snap penalty pushed the Tigers back, and they failed to convert. Ole Miss would then go on to score 28 unanswered points on the way to a 45-15 victory.
That failed attempt was just
one example of Auburn not being able to stay out of its own way on Saturday. They committed eight penalties for 67 yards and turned the ball over twice in the loss. The costly mistakes began early for Auburn in this contest. After forcing a punt by Ole Miss to open the game, Auburn moved the ball to the Ole Miss 49-yard line. A false start penalty set the Tigers back, and that was followed up by a pass play for negative yardage. A promising drive was turned into a punt.
Ole Miss followed that with a 17-play, 89-yard drive to go up 7-0. The drive was aided by a couple of third-down penalties. When trailing 7-6 with 7:38 remaining in the first half, Auburn's AnQuon Fegans intercepted Trinidad Chambliss. That was the opportunity for Auburn to take a lead, and more importantly, take momentum. Two plays later, Brown would fumble to give the ball back to the Rebels at their own 16. Ole Miss took advantage and went on another long scoring drive to take a 14-6 lead. Those are just early instances of Auburn not being able to take advantage early.
This game mirrored the LSU loss where Auburn was not able to get the running game going. Auburn rushed the ball 27 times for 63 yards with a 2.3 yards per carry. Brown was responsible for 13 of those carries, with running backs Jeremiah Cobb and Omar Mabson only getting 13 carries. The lack of willingness to get the running backs going has been a key reason why this offense has struggled.
The defense not being able to get off the field on third down has been an issue. That is not just this season, but in previous years as well. That has been one of the top criticisms of defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin. Ole Miss was 13-of-16 on third down on Saturday. That third-down efficiency led Ole Miss to control time of possession, 32:38 to 27:22.
Auburn has not been able to take advantage of any momentum after defeating Georgia and followed that with consecutive blowout losses. They will now face three opponents in Arkansas, Mississippi State, and Samford that they should be favored to defeat. That would give this team seven wins and a guarantee of a winning season. However, Alex Golesh and the coaching staff have to correct the same issues that have hurt this team all season.
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This article originally appeared on Auburn Wire: Jordan's Review: Auburn can't get out of its own way at Ole Miss
