Preview and Predictions: No. 13 Ole Miss travels to the Plains to face Auburn

OXFORD, Miss. — The panel is back this week for another roundtable of predictions and previews — and we’ve added a new addition to the group. After a much-needed bye week, Ole Miss is heading to the Plains to take on Auburn in what always feels like an entertaining matchup. The Rebels have risen to a season high No. 13 in the AP poll and No. 12 in the Coaches poll.

The last time Ole Miss beat Auburn at Jordan-Hare came in 2015 — when Hugh Freeze was at the helm in Oxford. The Rebels are looking to create a winning streak against the Tigers of their own after besting them last year in a 48-34 win at Vaught-Hemingway. This one comes with some added emotion as Ole Miss faces former head coach Freeze who took over the Tigers’ program for Bryan Harsin and is in his first year at the helm of the Auburn program. Freeze’s team is currently 3-3 on the season and 0-3 in SEC play.

As mentioned above, our panel has grown as fellow Rebel Walk writer Zach Moreth is now joining us. As always, be sure to follow all these guys for great Ole Miss content as well as subscribe to The Rebel Walk.

Zach Moreth — The Rebel Walk
G rayson Weir – BroBible
Kam Wicker – The Rebel Walk
Caleb Salers – SuperTalk Mississippi
Tyler Komis – Inside The Rebels/247Sports
TJ Oxley – The Rebel Walk

GAME DETAILS

Kickoff: Saturday, Oct. 21st, 6:00 PM CT
TV: ESPN
Radio:
- OleMissSports.com
- Memphis: WHBQ-AM 560
- Oxford: WOXF-FM 105.1
- Jackson: WFMN-FM 97.3
Betting Lines as of Friday at 5:00 p.m.:
- Ole Miss: -6.5
- O/U: 55.5
- Ole Miss Moneyline: -250
- Auburn Moneyline: +205

Curious to know more about the Auburn Tigers personnel and how Ole Miss matches up with them? Check out Zach’s article, “Ole Miss vs. Auburn: Who to watch in Saturday’s SEC matchup at Jordan-Hare.” In it, Zach highlights the dual system of quarterbacks Hugh Freeze has rolled out with Payton Thorne and Robby Ashford, talks about the Auburn secondary and much more.

Ole Miss Keys to the Game

Offense: Get Players Active Early and Often

The Tigers defense has been its best guarding against the pass in 2023. So for Ole Miss to dominate the offensive performance Saturday, running backs Ulysses Bentley and Quinshon Judkins, along with quarterback Jaxson Dart, need to get the run game going. Utilizing wide receiver Dayton Wade in creative motion pre-snap can help get things rolling too.

Auburn defensive back Jaylin Simpson has some of the best ball production in the country with four interceptions on the year. The Rebs need to pound the rock to open up the pass — and not turn the ball over.

Defense: Press Up, Take Away the Slot

It’s no secret that Auburn has struggled offensively in year one of the Freeze era. The offense has looked out of sync while injuries and preparation issues have been apparent. One of the major issues Auburn is facing is in the passing game. Say what you want about Payton Thorne, Robby Ashford, or the RPO playcalling Auburn has rolled out, but one fact is that the Auburn receiving corps is small.

Auburn is led in the receiver room by Jay Fair and Ja’Varrius Johnson. According to Justin Ferguson of the Auburn Observer: “Fair is listed at 5-foot-10 and 186 pounds. Johnson is listed at 5-foot-10 and 168 pounds. Fair and Johnson have played 133 of their 154 combined offensive snaps (86.4%) in the slot, the tried-and-true domain of smaller receivers.”

Every other receiver Auburn has rolled out this year has less than a handful of receptions. If the Rebels are going to take care of business, they need to force Auburn to look to throw to the outside where there has been little stability.

Predictions

Zach Moreth – The Rebel Walk

Ole Miss 33, Auburn 24

Prediction: The Rebel offense looks similar to how it did against LSU. Tight end Caden Prieskorn will open up the middle of the field in the passing game, and more importantly, this could be the first time besides week one where we will see a healthy Tre Harris and Quinshon Judkins on the field at the same time. Pete Golding and the defense will put pressure on Payton Thorne and the Auburn passing game. I would not be surprised to see an interception from Ole Miss!

X-Factor: Wide receiver Tre Harris

Kam Wicker – The Rebel Walk

Ole Miss 31, Auburn 16

Bold Prediction: Zakhari Franklin arrives. Franklin was one of the top receivers in the country last year at UTSA and arguably the best route runner. Since his arrival in Oxford and returning from his surgery, he’s been quiet in this offense. Look for Franklin to be one of the ‘guys’ for Dart in the wake of Jordan Watkins’ recent hand surgery.

X-Factor: JJ Pegues. Pegues is returning to Jordan-Hare for the first time since transferring to Ole Miss in his hometown of Oxford a season ago. The Rebel defensive tackle has made play after play so far this year for the Ole Miss, serving as true ‘disrupter’ up front. Look for the hometown hero to have a day against his former team.

Caleb Salers – SuperTalk Mississippi

Ole Miss 30, Auburn 24

Prediction: While tradition has it that Ole Miss will not win this game, Lane Kiffin’s team is on a mission to get the monkey off their back and do something that was last done by now Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze in 2015 — beat the Tigers on the road.

X-Factor: It will start with the Jaxson Dart to Tre Harris connection to get the defense on their toes, setting up a big rushing performance from Quinshon Judkins in front of his home-state crowd.

Grayson Weir – BroBible

Ole Miss 37, Auburn 17

Home field HAS to matter here for the Tigers, or else this could get out of hand. On paper, the Rebels should win by 20+… but football isn’t played on paper. Ole Miss’ defense has its issues, which will allow Auburn to get points on the board with a few frustrating fluke scrambles and a few fortunate deep balls. However, a strong pass rush will serve as a band aid against a bad offensive line, and a quarterback who has had nowhere to go for most of the season. On the flip side, the Rebels offense is due for a bounce-back game. Jaxson Dart will work to the edges, as Ulysses Bentley and Quinshon Judkins force the Tigers to keep honest over the middle of the field.

Tyler Komis – Inside the Rebels

Ole Miss 38, 17 Auburn

Prediction: Might be a little bold, but the defense limits Auburn’s run game and forces more throws than Freeze probably wants. Bold prediction: Rebels hold Tigers to under 110 yards of total rushing yards.

X-factor: gotta go with JJ Pegues.

TJ Oxley – The Rebel Walk

Ole Miss 35, Auburn 14

Prediction: Ole Miss wins by wearing down the Auburn defense. The Tigers gave a valiant effort against Georgia but even in that, the offense left plenty to be desired. Pete Golding’s defense can’t let up on that trend. In four games against power five opponents Hugh Freeze’s offense has averaged 15.5 points per game. In two games against other opponents they put up 52.0 points per game. Ole Miss finds success via the run game and the defense gets plenty of pressure to whoever lines up at QB for Auburn. Pair that with some Auburn penalty issues and Ole Miss continues on.

X-Factor: The entire offensive line

In two of the last three Auburn games, Texas A&M and LSU were both able to run for 200+ yards against the Tigers. Eugene Asante is great as a pass rusher, but the Tigers lack that interior presence. The big boys up front pave the way for a big day on the ground from Ole Miss’s rushing triple threat.

Hotty Toddy!

TJ Oxley

TJ Oxley is the Vice President of Operations and the Director of Community Relations for The Rebel Walk. He is also the Director of Basketball Content and Senior Basketball Writer. He has over five years of experience providing in-depth analysis of college basketball through multiple platforms. A former MBA graduate of Ole Miss, TJ started with The Rebel Walk in 2019.