Ole Miss found a way to win in its Week 7 matchup against Auburn. The Rebels continue to build on their strengths, but their weakness provided for a stressful game day experience for fans.
The rushing attack continues to be Ole Miss’ bread and butter
Ole Miss rushed for 448 yards against Auburn while having three players rush for over 100 yards: quarterback Jaxson Dart and running backs Zach Evans and Quinshon Judkins. Another player, Dayton Wade, averaged 15.5 yards on his four carries.
As opposed to last year, Ole Miss is now a run-heavy offense rather than an explosive passing team. Dart still came away from this game with three touchdowns, but most of the work stayed on the ground and between the tackles.
Evans and Judkins made a statement this game, proving that they are in the nation’s upper echelon of running back duos.
On a gamely basis, the running back room puts on a show. Whether it is Evans one week or Judkins another, Ole Miss’ offense stays afloat. But if both of them play like their hair is on fire, it opens up the offense to many new possibilities.
Coach Kiffin has found a select number of plays he loves, and they work
If someone watched the game, they would think the Ole Miss playbook is very limited, however, that so-called limited playbook led the Rebels to 48 points against an SEC opponent.
Dart rushed for 115 yards, most of which came from designed quarterback runs and run-pass options with the running backs.
Dart found a nice balance between pulling the ball and handing it off on the run-pass options. In weeks prior, it seemed as though Dart guessed his way through these plays. However, Dart looked comfortable and confident in his decision-making, and it paid off in a big way.
The offense disguised a lot of its plays through play action, which was possible because of the run game’s success, especially in the red zone when Dart could fake the handoff and still dump it off to his running backs in the flat.
Ole Miss continues to play to the level of its opponent
Despite how good the offense and defense looked at times, the Rebels have yet to put together four good quarters of football. Similar to the first half against Vanderbilt, in which Ole Miss trailed 20-17, the Rebels struggled with Auburn in the second quarter.
After coming out to a 21-0 lead, the Rebels could only hold onto a 28-17 lead at halftime.
It seems as though Ole Miss takes its foot off the pedal just as its opponent is about to shut down. Had the Rebels jumped out to a 28-0 lead, that game would have been over at halftime. But, due to a stagnated offense and small mistakes on defense, Ole Miss let Auburn hang around for all four quarters.
If Ole Miss plans to make it to Atlanta in December, they have to figure out how to play a full 60 minutes of championship football.
