Rebels Travel to Jordan-Hare for SEC West Matchup

In a Saturday Night football matchup, the Auburn Tigers (3-3) will host the Ole Miss Rebels (5-1). The Rebels look for their third straight division win coming off a bye week, while the Tigers are still looking for their first SEC win. 

Rebels Rolling Offense

Jaxson Dart is the leader of this Ole Miss offense and consistently puts up big numbers for the team. Dart has thrown for 1638 yards on the year and ties the lead in the SEC for fewest interceptions with 2. Dart averages 9.81yds per pass attempt and has a QBR of 167.78, which is fourth in the SEC. 

Dart’s impressive performance all season has landed him many mid-season accolades. Jaxson is one of the top-10 highest rated quarterbacks this season with a rating of 91. He has also been placed on the Maxwell Award Midseason Watch List.

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Ole Miss also has a solid defense, especially when it comes to putting pressure on the quarterback. Ole miss is fourth in the SEC with 22 sacks on the year and third in the conference with 154 sack yards.

The Rebels’ offense averages 41.7 points per game and 489.3 yards a game. This powerful SEC offense may be too powerful for Auburn to keep up with.

The Troubled Tigers

Auburn is looking to bounce back after getting trounced by LSU last week.

Jayden Daniels tore the Tigers’ defense to shreds, as the defense gave up 563 total yards. Hugh Freeze said LSU beat them in “every way that you could.” Unluckily for Auburn, LSU’s defense turned things around and had one of their better performances this season. Auburn had no defensive answers and hopes to respond better to Ole Miss this week. 

Despite the lopsided score, there were times in the game where Auburn was making consistent runs on offense and looked to be a competitive team.

However, the quarterback struggles continue to haunt the Tigers. Payton Thorne only completed 12-of-23 passes for 102 yards and Robby Ashford threw for 52 yards. Until the Tigers find a solid quarterback and leader, the offense will continue to struggle with consistency. 

On the bright side, Jaylin Simpson will need to have a big game to help contain the Ole Miss offense. Simpson is a prime candidate for SEC Defensive Player of the Year and was recently named to ESPN’s midseason All-American team.

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Simpson has 20 tackles and four interceptions on the year. If Simpson can provide a spark and the Tigers’ defense can slow down the Rebels and Jaxson Dart, the offense may have time to form long drives and find a much-needed groove.

Kickoff

This SEC West battle will take place Saturday at 7 p.m. in Jordan-Hare Stadium.

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