This has been a weird year, so nobody should have been surprised when Auburn came home after a month-long absence to play a really weird game.

On a night when the oppressive heat of September and October finally gave way to a mid-40s chill, the Tigers kicked off the season's final stanzas in desultory fashion.

The Tigers notched another conference win to improve to 7-2, but thanks to a sporadic offense and a couple of untimely breakdowns, they also let a nothing-special Ole Miss team hang around long enough to provide a last-minute scare.

And you thought Halloween ended Thursday night.

I was surprised to check the box score afterward to discover the game only lasted three hours and 19 minutes. It felt much longer than that from the bleachers.

Thanks to the temperature and slapdash offense, attendance dwindled steadily from intermission until the entirely-too-exciting finish. The modest crowd that remained after halftime endured full measures of scoring futility, defensive shutdowns and a seemingly endless parade of official time-outs.

It was perversely fitting for the goofiness of this season that the remnant's persistence was rewarded with an at-long-last holding penalty called on the visitors and Auburn's sole defensive turnover in Christian Tutt's game-ending pick.

Which was, you know, kind of fun in the moment. All things being equal, however, I'd have preferred another 50-to-10 laugher. And maybe some hot chocolate vendors in the stands.

Anybody expecting a return to Auburn's previous offensive form against the lower tier of the SEC West was disappointed — at least in terms of scoring. The Tigers fell more than 30 points short of their benchmarks against Mississippi State and Arkansas even while comfortably crossing the 500-yard mark in total offense.

And it wasn't like AU spent another Saturday bumbling through one short possession after another. Only one Auburn drive, the game's sole Tiger three-and-out, ended in their own territory. Naturally, that was the punt that yielded a 55-yard Ole Miss return to set up the Rebel Black Bear Landsharks' first score.

Bo Nix had his best passing game of the year in terms of completions and yardage, but did not notch a score through the air. Too many drops of catchable balls contributed to that deficiency and, for the second week in a row, the play-calling seemed random.

Gus Malzahn resumed mass substitutions between plays; offensive dissonance was the order of most of the night. The inability to put away a game that was, perversely, only in doubt during its final minute, contributed heavily to Saturday night's online display of frayed fan nerves.

For all that, you couldn't blame the offense for having trouble staying on the field — at least until its last possession. They owned time of possession for all four quarters, held the ball for nearly 20 minutes of the second half. That's all well and good.

They still couldn't translate all that ownership into points.

Back-by-committee gave way to freshman D.J. Williams getting the lion's share of carries. The young guy showed more than a few flashes of potential greatness, but even Williams was rarely left in the game long enough to establish the run.

I get Malzahn's desire to keep working on his passing game against the SEC's worst pass defense. But it was cold out there, and the red zone might as well have had a force field pop up whenever the Tigers got into scoring range.

The last time I saw Auburn march up and down like that, with multiple extended but fruitless drives, was a couple of years ago against tiny Mercer. Back then the Tigers took aim straight at their own feet, committing five turnovers while still topping 500 yards of offense.

Against Ole Miss this year, AU's two fumbles (one of which was of course right at the goal line) were less of a factor than the general offensive ... I don't know what you'd call it. Hangover from the futility of the LSU game? Ennui?

Whatever label you care to put on it, the result was a frustrating, grinding slog.

Auburn unfortunately also reverted to early-season form on special teams — with Anders Carlson missing three of his five field goal attempts and the punt coverage breaking down against one of the worst return teams in the country.

The latter lapse set up a late first-quarter Ole Miss touchdown that eventually led to the moderate drama of the game's final minutes.

On the plus side, the "D" once again did what it does even while missing two team leaders in an injured Marlon Davidson and a sick Jeremiah Dinson. The Rebels' late fourth quarter touchdown drive was not fun to watch, but I still have a hard time getting mad at a defense that only allows one score per half.

The game's only true highlight came from a nearly botched substitution; Derrick Brown sprinting from the sideline to absolutely demolish UM's Jerrion Ealy on a flare pass. I guess if the SEC refs aren't going to call holding against Auburn's defensive line, it does kind of make sense to put Brown in as a defensive back on occasion.

And you know, Auburn won the game, too. And it all but shut down a team that enjoyed a bye last week and had been improving on offense. It just wasn't easy. I feel pretty safe in saying that most everybody was anticipating "easy" when they strolled into Jordan-Hare Stadium around sunset.

At this point I guess we should be used to an Auburn win that freaks out a significant chunk of the fanbase. With a sorely needed bye week ahead, we can expect that freak-out to last for an extra week — after which Amen Corner will tell 2019's tale one way or the other.

As usual.

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