The Ole Miss football team came up short in another winnable game as the Rebels fell to then- No. 11 Auburn 20-14 on Saturday.
Once again, it was the consistently unproductive offense that was unable to capitalize on a strong performance from the defense. Offensive coordinator Rich Rodriguez appeared to share the same frustration as Rebel fans throughout the game as he pounded his desk in the coach’s box.
The results beg for an answer to a standing question that’s about five weeks old: What’s going on with the Ole Miss offense?
“It’s awful,” Rodriguez said when asked after the loss about issues with the passing game. “We’ve got to be able to pitch and catch. I’ve got to see what we can do and what we can execute. You’re not going to, at this point, do all of your schemes all over again, but these are passes we missed today that our guys have completed pretty well and easily in practice. We just didn’t do it today.”
John Rhys Plumlee continued to struggle through the air, completing only 11 of his 21 pass attempts for 86 yards with a game-clinching interception, while Matt Corral threw the ball six times, completing three for 13 yards. Elijah Moore had three grabs for only 14 yards, and Jerrion Ealy had the most catches with four for 16 yards.
While Plumlee was able to turn in 92 rushing yards with 17 carries, most of which came on a 20-yard rush, the lack of balance in the offense was apparent on Saturday. The combination of 42 running plays and 27 passes helped the Auburn defense key in on the run as the Rebels were unable to capitalize with short passes.
Still, the Rebels had a chance to drive and win the game while only down six points and close to a minute left in the game, when Plumlee took the field in favor of Corral, who didn’t play in the second half.
“The kids played hard, but playing hard and executing have got to go hand in hand,” Rodriguez said. “I’ve got to do a better job getting us some chances to score… Those kids are battling. I’m really proud of how they battled, but we’ve got to work to get over the hump.”
The Ole Miss defense played a game with minimal mistakes, consistently clamping down on Bo Nix and the Auburn attack. Mike MacIntyre’s defense delivered in all four quarters on Saturday, playing 90 total snaps and keeping the Rebels in the game with the help of a few missed field goal attempts.
“(We had) a lot of missed opportunities in this game offensively,” Plumlee said. “Defensively, I think they played a really, really good game. I don’t know what they’re doing on that side of the ball, but they did a really good job. We just had a lot of missed opportunities on the offensive side, and we’re still in at the end with considerably one of the best teams in the country right now, so I think it really just shows you how good this team can be.”
The fact that Ole Miss has kept these SEC games close against more talented squads exacerbates the ineffective offensive scheme the coaching staff has produced week after week.
Where the defense has improved this season, the offense has devolved into a one-dimensional side with no identity after nine games.
