Auburn wins at Ole Miss, 31-16
OXFORD, Miss. — If there were any questions whether the Auburn football team would be able to bounce back from consecutive disappointing losses, coach Gus Malzahn figures the Tigers answered them in a 31-16 win Saturday at Ole Miss.
“We went through a storm last week with all the negativity that goes with it,” Malzahn said. “It either divides — and I think a lot of people root for that — or it brings you together.”
Lofty preseason hopes for Auburn were dashed after Southeastern Conference losses to Mississippi State and Tennessee after a 4-1 start. But the Tigers (5-3, 2-3) had everything working together against the Rebels in all three phases, leading 10-6 at halftime before breaking the game open.
“The third quarter stood out to me because we kind of put that game away,” said JaTarvious Whitlow, who rushed for 1370 yards on 19 carries as Auburn rolled up 484 yards of total offense without a turnover.
The Tigers put together scoring drives of 68, 75 and 62 yards in the third quarter to build a 31-9 cushion that was never seriously threatened. Anthony Schwartz recovered a fumble in the end zone after a 54-yard run by Whitlow, and Malik Miller capped drives with scoring runs of 1 and 2 yards during the period.
Whitlow had a touchdown reception of 3 yards from Jarrett Stidham in the first quarter, and Anders Carlson kicked a 28-yard field goal late in the second quarter. Stidham finished 13-of-22 passing for 215 yards, and Seth Williams had four catches for 83 yards.
Ole Miss (5-3, 1-3) moved the ball, accounting for 447 yards of total offense, but settled for three field goals on three trips into the red zone. Luke Logan made the kicks from 36, 37 and 35 yards.
Jordan Ta’amu was 27-of46 for 324 yards with a 12-yard touchdown pass to A.J. Brown in the final period. Brown finished with 10 receptions for 155 yards.
Auburn’s Deshaun Davis had 13 tackles, Nick Coe tallied three sacks and Marlon Davidson blocked a field-goal attempt.
› Arkansas 23,
Tulsa 0 FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The Razorbacks held Tulsa to 12 yards in the third quarter and ended a six-game losing streak.
Freshman quarterback Connor Noland, who started in place of the injured Ty Storey, got his first win for Arkansas (2-6).
“I’m just so proud of these guys,” Arkansas coach Chad Morris said. “They’ve endured so much this season and keep giving the effort and intensity.”
After a first-drive interception, Noland, an Arkansas native, settled down and led the offense alongside running back Rakeem Boyd.
Boyd carried the ball 22 times for 99 yards before he came out of the game early in the third quarter. The Arkansas rushing game racked up 196 yards and opened up the passing game for the inexperienced gunslinger.
Noland finished 10-for-16 passing for 124 yards and a score. The touchdown, which was his first in college, came on a third-and-4 play late in the first half deep in Tulsa (1-6) territory.
He found sophomore tight end Grayson Gunter, who had an easy path to the end zone on what was also his first college touchdown.