The last time Auburn played at home against a Mississippi school from its division, its scored its most points in past last 24 SEC games.
The Tigers boat-raced Mississippi State, 56-23 on Sept. 28 in their last home game in over a month. But Auburn sees this year's iteration of its next opponent, Ole Miss, as a standout defensive group that will test Bo Nix and the stumbling Auburn offense as it begins a four-game home stretch to close the regular season.
"Defensively, really what stands out to me is they’re very sound in the running game," Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn. "They’ve been very good against the run. They’ve got most of their guys back, especially up front, where they are very disruptive.
"It’ll be a good challenge for our team — one that our guys are looking forward to."
Under first-year defensive coordinator Mike MacIntyre, the Rebels have improved their points-per-play average from 6.32 to to 5.72. But it's the stingy rushing defense that has been most impressive for Ole Miss this season.
Last year's group ranked 116th in college football in run defense, allowing 221.75 yards per game. MacIntyre, the 2016 Pac-12 Coach of the Year at Colorado, has his unit now to holding opponents to 124.25 yards per game.
That improvement is especially significant for this rivalry, as Auburn has averaged 300.6 rushing yards per game in its last three meetings with the Rebels — all wins.
"Their linebackers are very active," Malzahn said. "It’s very impressive to watch."
Although starting tailback Boobee Whitlow will be limited again on Saturday, the Tigers are coming off a big rushing performance from true freshman D.J. Williams against LSU and currently sit at 20th in the nation in rushing offense.
But its Nix who will need to improve the most for Auburn's offense to pick up steam in November. Unlike their stingy front, the Rebels' secondary has been porous this season, ranking last in the SEC in yardage allowed through the air.
"On the offensive side we’ve just gotta work," receiver Eli Stove said. "We’ve got to get everything going like we have before."
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