Auburn comes into this weekend as a huge underdog to Ole Miss. Most oddsmakers and prediction markets have the Tigers as a massive underdog.
Last week's loss to LSU shouldn't make fans feel good about going into Oxford, unless they believe there could be some Georgia magic.
Ole Miss just went down to the wire with Texas last Saturday and looked much more promising on offense. Plus, the Tigers have already shown how much they struggle when the offense can't keep the defense off the field.
So, with that, here are three things I expect against Ole Miss:
Joel Gordon's playcalling duties have to be on a leash
Last week just showed how overexposed the defense is from being on the field for most of the game. There are others going out of their way to find things to blame on defensive coordinator DJ Durkin, but it's the offense that doesn't seem to want to acknowledge the struggles that they have had all year.
Then to not take accountability for only 18 minutes of possession time against LSU and the absurd number of three-and-out drives that only lasted a minute or two in games before. Then to go out and let the blame fall on the one keeping your team in games is completely insane to me.
Offensive Coordinator Joel Gordon's playcalling has to be on a leash against Ole Miss. If the offense stalls like it has the last four weeks, then there is no shot that they can win. Byrum Brown, for as effective as he can be, isn't Cam Newton and can't single-handedly dominate the SEC. The offense has to be better against Ole Miss, who will probably turn this into a shootout.
If it isn't, then all this blame on Durkin being the problem has to stop, and someone on the offensive side has to take accountability for where things are. That goes into my next thing to expect.
Auburn has to score to keep up with Ole Miss
Durkin called Trinidad Chambliss one of the best players in the country. If he is him, then expect Ole Miss to score a lot. The Rebels' near comeback should scare every team in the SEC.
I will admit it, I was wrong about Chambliss. I said a while back that I wasn't on the hype train that everyone else was, and I thought that this would be the game that Auburn would steal in the month of October.
Now I can't say I don't have a ticket; Chambliss has impressed me in every game this year. His play alone can be more dominant than Sam Leavitt's was against the Tigers. Even without RB Kewan Lacy, there is plenty of explosive play left from emerging star Deuce Alexander and company.
Auburn has to score against Ole Miss, or else they will face the same fate they did the week before with LSU. Auburn Daily's Brad Law mentioned on their YouTube channel that he thinks "Auburn will need to score more than 30 to win the game." Which is probably true: at the beginning of the season, the offense was having a hard time completing drives for scores. Now they can barely muster over 150 yards passing with the starters out there. So how they are going to score 30 points seems like a stretch.
That is when Brad would defend his thoughts on by saying that "Ole Miss has given up more explosive plays than any other team in the SEC, the Rebels have given up 27 completions this season of 20 or more yards. "
That is a glaring fact to reckon with. Yes, their defense has given up plenty of yards this year, but that doesn't mean that an Auburn offense that hasn't had a lot of explosive plays is magically going to have a bunch of bombs go for six.
The struggles on the offense can't continue, which leads me to my last expectation.
Someone has to answer if the offense stalls again
If the offense stalls for the fifth straight week, the questions go beyond Gordon. Someone will have to explain how bringing in 11 offensive transfers hasn't worked out as promised.
Fans on the Plains have been hungry for a working and explosive offense. So being teased with the change kind of makes it feel worse when it looks as bad as it does. That goes back to when I asked who was to blame for the LSU implosion.
If the defense is on the field for the entire game because the offense can't hold on to a possession, then it can't be on the defense to be the scapegoat for its problems.
Auburn vs. Ole Miss final score prediction
Auburn desperately needs a bounce-back game after the letdown against LSU. But watch the hope come back to the Plains if they do win.
Beating the team that has arguably the best QB in the nation and a Georgia team that was ranked No. 1 at the time would be a great first-year resume.
I originally said that this would be a game Auburn would steal from the gauntlet of October, but I am starting to have my doubts.
If Auburn does win the game, I believe the score will be 34-27. It'll take a late defensive effort like Texas's to stop Chambliss down the stretch.
Add us as a preferred source on Google