Instant Analysis: Auburn’s comeback falls short against Ole Miss, Tigers lose 48-34
Trailing Ole Miss 21-0 early in the second quarter it looked like Auburn was in danger of an embarrassing loss.
Robby Ashford, Tank Bigsby, and the rest of the Tigers’ offense made sure that didn’t happen.
Ashford returned from a brief benching to lead Auburn (3-4, 1-3 SEC) to back-to-back touchdown drives and get Auburn back in the game. While the Tigers ultimately came up short, falling 48-34 to the Rebels, the Tigers showed what they are made of.
After a disastrous first quarter where they averaged 1.8 yards per play and turned the ball over twice, they scored 17 points in the second quarter.
The Tigers were finally able to get the ground game going, rushing for 106 yards and two touchdowns in the second quarter alone. The offensive line was able to open some lanes and the running backs did the rest.
Jarquez Hunter had a 48-yard run to set up a 2-yard touchdown run by Bigsby with 5:24 left to play to make it a 21-14 game.
The Tigers punted on their next drive but scored on six of their final eight drives in the game.
Unfortunately, the Rebels were also able to run it effectively, racking up 448 yards and three scores of their own on the ground. Zach Evans, Jaxson Dart, and Quinshon Judkins all finished with over 100 yards rushing for Ole Miss.
The 448 yards are the most Auburn has allowed in a single game since at least 2000.
The Rebels scored on all four of their second-half drives to prevent Auburn from completing the comeback.
After making it a game in the second quarter Auburn kept it close in the third quarter.
Bigsby had one of the biggest runs of his career in the third quarter. With Auburn trailing 28-17 he was able to cut a run back and broke multiple tackles on a 50-yard touchdown run that made it a one-score game.
Bigbsy continued his dominance against Ole Miss, leading the way with 179 yards and two touchdowns. He has now rushed for 448 yards and five scores against them in three games.
The Rebels responded with a field goal to push the lead back to seven and Lane Kiffin dialed up the trickery. He surprised Auburn with an onside kick that the Rebels recovered. They marched down the field on a nine-play, 54-yard drive that was all runs.
The touchdown put them up 38-24 with 6:04 left in the third quarter and from then on the offenses traded points.
Auburn got the ball back trailing 48-34 with 6:26 left to play and one last chance to pull off the upset.
Auburn needed 12 plays to gain 38 yards before Ashford was picked off on fourth-and-10 to end the game.
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