Two seasons ago, Auburn went into its matchup against Ole Miss after an impressive 38-23 rout of Arkansas in Fayetteville. The Tigers carried that momentum, and the home crowd, to their second straight up, taking down Matt Corral and the Rebels 31-20. That win made Auburn 6-2 in Bryan Harsin's first season, and all was looking up for the program.
Now we arrive at the 2023 game, and the Tigers are wounded after three straight losses, including a 48-18 pounding last Saturday against LSU in Baton Rouge. The offense is disjointed, and the defense is suffering from injury problems.
Still, this is a night game in Jordan-Hare Stadium, so anything is possible when the No. 13 Rebels come to town. The crowd will be hyped, but it will be another challenging task for Hugh Freeze's squad. Let's examine four questions as the Tigers host Ole Miss on Saturday night.
1st Down: How will the quarterback situation play out?
The passing game got a bit better against the Bayou Bengals, finally throwing for over 100 yards as Payton Thorne went for 102, while Robby Ashford was 3-for-4 for 52 yards and a touchdown.
Yet there is no cohesiveness with the receivers to date, and it's no secret that to shut down Auburn's offense, you shut down the running game. Thorne has been considerably better at home, and Ashford can still make explosive plays. So will the game plan remain the same, or will Philip Montgomery and Freeze dial something else up? The head coach wasn't tipping his hat this week.
2nd Down: Can any receiver step up?
Jay Fair has been okay, and Rivaldo Fairweather has been solid at times. Otherwise, this receiver group has graded less than average this season, and it sounds like younger guys will start getting their chance. So, will Caleb Burton continue to start and create plays? Will Camden Brown finally break out of his shell? It's time for these guys to make plays for the offense.
3rd Down: How will a depleted defense handle Ole Miss' up-tempo offense?
While getting Keointe Scott back and Jaylin Simpson returning to full health is a positive, the Tigers are still lacking depth in the trenches and at linebacker. If Freeze has mentioned it once, he has mentioned it a million times; playing Marcus Harris and the guys up front this many snaps won't get the job done, especially against the Rebels, who only stop once they are off the field.
Getting key plays from Keldric Faulk, Cam Riley, Justin Rogers and others and getting off the field on third down will be crucial for Ron Roberts' defense.
4th Down: Can Auburn take advantage of Ole Miss' run defense?
To say the Rebels are better at stopping the run is an understatement, allowing 42 fewer yards per game on the ground than last season. Still, the Tigers need to get the ground game going to give Thorne and the passing game some easy completion opportunities and for the clock to run to keep Ole Miss' offense off the field.
Damari Alston is probably still a no-go, but Jarquez Hunter, Brian Battie and Jeremiah Cobb are capable of putting up big numbers.
