JHS voodoo perception, not Auburn football, ‘offers threat’ to Ole Miss

So far, it’s been a season of ups and downs for the Auburn football program. The first stretch of the season went well, with the Tigers solidly beating two of the first three opponents and coming away from Cal with a hard-fought win. But once SEC play arrived, things went sideways.

The Tigers dropped the ball (no pun intended) against the Texas A&M Aggies but came home to Jordan-Hare Stadium and went toe-to-toe with the best team in the country. Auburn football almost beat Georgia, but went to Baton Rouge and got absolutely demolished by LSU.

Of course, it’s a rebuilding year for the Tigers, over half the roster is new, it’s the coaching staff’s first year, and our starting quarterback didn’t even arrive on campus until after spring practice. There are all kinds of excuses to offer up for Auburn football, but it doesn’t change the numbers in the record.

This weekend, Ole Miss comes to town, and Auburn fans want so badly to beat Lane Kiffin after the drama of the coaching search last year. And if Ole Miss were to win this Saturday, it would be the first time the Rebels have beaten the Tigers back-to-back in 71 years.

It’s a down year for Auburn, there’s no doubt about it, but Lane Kiffin isn’t positive that a win is guaranteed this weekend on the Plains, per The Clarion Ledger:

"“I think that place ‒ I played in it here, I played in it at Alabama ‒ just sometimes it kind of has some magical things happen,” Kiffin said. “They’re always sold out. Fans seem to be in all the games from the beginning on. They seem to play better there, especially at night.”The “magic” ‒ or the perception thereof ‒ offers the threat. Not the math."

Jordan-Hare is a special place. You look at the Prayer at Jordan-Hare, the Kick 6, all the times Auburn has beaten Alabama when they shouldn’t have, and even the Tigers’ crazy win over Ole Miss two seasons ago when the Rebs thought they were bound for the SEC Championship.

Crazy things happen for the Tigers at home, and that, rather than the gameplay, is what makes Kiffin so nervous for next weekend’s matchup.