Analysis: Ole Miss sharp in beating Auburn; offense rolls up 558 yards

Chad Kelly threw for 381 yards and two touchdowns as Ole Miss won on the road 27-19 at Auburn on Saturday. It was a monumental day in program history in many ways and the win keeps the Rebels (7-2, 4-1 in SEC) in control of their own destiny in the SEC West race. Here are some points to ponder:

5 TAKEAWAYS

• A fast start, but…: The Rebels scored on their first possession of the game for the fifth time this year, but for the third time it was only a field goal. Ole Miss has become too reliant on its kicking game, leaving too many points on the table early.
• Confidence: Even when the Rebels fell behind they still played with confidence. It was almost as if Ole Miss expected to win instead of simply wanting to win. This is the first time in history Ole Miss has won at Alabama and at Auburn in the same season and only the second time it has beaten both in the same year. The first was 2003 when Eli Manning was quarterback.
• Getting off the field: The Landsharks were great on third down Saturday, easily its best performance of the season. Ole Miss held the Tigers to only two conversions on 15 third down attempts. Auburn was also 0-for-2 on fourth down.
• Clock control: Ole Miss held the ball for more than 33 minutes in the game. It was kind of strange that the longest scoring drive was in the first quarter and only lasted 4:26.
• Spreading the ball: Nine different Rebels caught passes Saturday and another five ran it. As the season progresses, it is getting tougher for teams to concentrate on one or two players because of the sharing of the offensive workload.

REPORT CARD

Offense: (A-). The Rebels had 558 total yards, but they are still struggling in the red zone. In three trips inside the Auburn 20, Ole Miss had to settle for three field goals.

Defense: (A). The defense only allowed Auburn 125 yards rushing and the Tigers’ leading rusher, Peyton Barber, gained only 17, although he was banged up still from the four-overtime game last week at Arkansas. The Rebels also collected three more sacks.

Special teams: (A). Again, Gary Wunderlich was perfect kicking, hitting all three field goals and three extra points. Ole Miss also did not allow a kickoff return.

Overall: (A). The Rebels again got off to a quick start only to see the lead melt away. They can get away with it against a struggling team like Auburn, but with another group of Tigers waiting down the road – LSU –  Ole Miss needs to learn to not to take its foot off the gas pedal.

GAME PLAN

Ole Miss came into the game with the plan to establish the run and it worked. The Rebels ran the ball 39 times and averaged 4.0 yards per carry. That balance enabled Ole Miss to go to the passing game when it needed to, rolling up 402 yards. That kind of balance bodes well for the Rebels.

GAME BALLS

• Laquon Treadwell. The junior caught seven passes for 114 yards against the defense that broke his leg a season ago. He also grabbed a 33-yard touchdown pass on a nice over-the-shoulder catch with a defender draped all over him. He also completed a pass for 21 yards.
• Marquis Haynes. Taking advantage of Auburn using two blockers to handle Robert Nkemdiche, Haynes had six tackles, three of them for loss,and he also sacked Sean White twice.
• Damore’ea Stringfellow. The Washington transfer had the best game of his young Rebel career. He had a team-high eight catches for 71 yards.
• Trae Elston. The defensive back had a great game in run support, collecting seven tackles, six of them solo stops. He also broke up two passes.

INJURY UPDATE

Robert Nkemdiche started after missing last week with a concussion.

Tony Connor did not make the trip and missed another game after he tore his meniscus against Alabama.

Offensive lineman Justin Bell played guard and center after shaking off a series of nagging injuries.

Steve Barnes

Steve Barnes is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers SEC football.