Can the Ole Miss running game hurt Auburn?
OXFORD — Coming off its first SEC win of 2018, Ole Miss has another conference challenge Saturday, albeit at home against a struggling opponent.
The Rebels (5-2, 1-2 SEC) host the Auburn Tigers, coming off back-to-back losses against Mississippi State and Tennessee. With a win, Ole Miss could ensure at least a .500 record for the season and match its overall win total from 2017 heading into its bye week.
The matchup against Auburn is an interesting one. The Tigers haven't looked great over the last month, struggling to an 11-point win over Southern Miss before its back-to-back SEC losses. But Auburn's roster is still among the most talented in the FBS, boasting future NFL stars all across the defense and quarterback Jarrett Stidham who many expect to play on Sundays as well.
Here are three questions Ole Miss needs to answer against Auburn:
1. Can Ole Miss keep the run game going?
Over the last two weeks, Ole Miss has rushed for 533 yards and eight touchdowns. The last time a Rebels team had back-to-back running weeks as successful came in the first two weeks of 2015 against Tennessee-Martin and Fresno State. Of course, putting up huge rushing numbers against UL-Monroe and Arkansas isn't much of a shock.
But Auburn? The Tigers have only allowed three rushing touchdowns all season, tied for the fewest in college football. And they only allow 3.36 yards per carry, ranking second in the SEC. If Ole Miss can replicate its rushing success against a defense like Auburn's, the Rebels' running game may have truly turned a corner.
2. Will chunk plays continue to beat the Rebels?
Ole Miss' season-long difficulty limiting big plays is no secret. The Rebels rank 128th out of 130 teams by allowing 128 plays of 10 yards or longer. That includes 20 plays of 30 yards or longer, ranking 114th in the nation.
If ever there was a team to cure Ole Miss' woes, it'd be Auburn. The Tigers rank 13th in the SEC with just nine plays of 30 yards or longer. (By contrast, Ole Miss leads the FBS with 38 offensive plays of 30 yards or longer. No other team has 30.) Sure, Ole Miss' defense has surrendered chunk plays all season. But the Rebels' defensive weakness has also been Auburn's offensive weakness. Whichever team overcome its shortcoming quickest should have an advantage Saturday.
3. Who'll step up at receiver?
Now that sophomore standout D.K. Metcalf is out for the remainder of 2018 with a neck injury, Ole Miss is going to need someone new to fill Metcalf's vacancy next to A.J. Brown and DaMarkus Lodge in the receivers room. Sophomore Braylon Sanders and freshman Elijah Moore are the likeliest candidates as listed by offensive coordinator Phil Longo. But neither player has the Stretch Armstrong frame of Metcalf, nor his experience.
How Sanders and Moore play should have large-scale effects on the rest of the season for Ole Miss.
Brown and Lodge are going to make their catches. But Metcalf was Ole Miss' field stretcher, averaging 21.9 yards per catch. By comparison, Brown averages 13 yards per catch and Lodge averages 13.3 yards per catch. Someone is going to need to stretch the field vertically for the Rebels, and the auditions begin against Auburn.