AU-OLE MISS: Tigers take advantage of Kiffin decisions

Auburn defeated Ole Miss in a key SEC game Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium. (AU Media Relations)

By TIM GAYLE

AUBURN -- On the one hand, Lane Kiffin couldn’t help but notice the weapons his battered Ole Miss football team was missing. Which made his decision to repeatedly pass up field goals on fourth down in the red zone more than a little baffling. 

Whatever the reason, 18th-ranked Auburn made the most of the opportunity at Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday night, turning back four second-half trips in the red zone to defeat the 10th-ranked Rebels 31-20 for their sixth consecutive win in the series.

“They did a good job but it wasn’t any special new defense or anything,” Kiffin said. “When you get in the red zone, things tighten down, especially when you’re not running the ball well. You’ve got to make good throws and you’ve got to make big plays and we didn’t do that. Obviously, you can sit here and say you should have kicked field goals, but we’ve made a lot of those (fourth-down plays). We’ve converted more than anybody in the country. When it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work. We could’ve kicked those field goals and still lost, too.” 

The game featured plenty of early drama as Auburn grabbed a 14-3 lead in what was expected to be an offensive shootout. Suddenly, Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral went down and the entire Rebel offense went with him. 

“I thought the way he came off that it was really bad, like, broken,” Kiffin admitted. “So I kind of had already gone to that place. I was surprised he came back, especially came back to have some movement skill, which was awesome.”

Corral tried to get up with 1:38 left in the first quarter, but fell back to the turf with what appeared to be a badly sprained left ankle. A few minutes later, Kiffin called a timeout with 9:59 left in the second quarter to figure out the options available for freshman Luke Altmyer when Corral went back out on the field. 

Neither he nor the Ole Miss offense was ever the same, however. Corral actually ran for a touchdown later in the game, but most of his runs were short bursts, followed by slides to avoid contact. With the conference’s leading receiver, Braylon Sanders, sidelined, and one of the conference’s top scoring receivers (Dontario Drummond) injured during the game, the Ole Miss offense struggled for any consistency.  

“Matt battled to come back in and Drummond went down so Matt was down to none of his initial three receivers or initial tight end,” Kiffin said, “so really a credit to Jahcour Pearson and Casey Kelly, two walk-on kids that really are doing a great job out there. Both had seven catches and there was 200 yards between the two of them.”

The offensive production was there -- the two teams combined for 947 yards -- but the points were not. Auburn had an early lead but managed just a field goal in the second half. Ole Miss could drive the ball, but likewise managed only a field goal once they reached the red zone.

“It doesn’t take a lot to figure out if you lead the country in rushing -- outside of triple-option teams -- coming into a game and you’re quarterback limps around and your receivers are hurt, it’s pretty easy to figure out what to do,” Kiffin said. “Stack the box and stop the run. It’s a good plan by them. I think most of you would have done the same.”

Trailing 28-17, Ole Miss recovered a fumbled punt on the Auburn 29, but elected to pass on fourth and one and Corral’s pass was low and wide of tight end Casey Kelly. On the next drive, the Rebels drove to a first down at the 17 before the Tigers’ defense tightened. After an illegal procedure penalty and a holding penalty, both on third down, Caden Costa drilled a 49-yard field goal to make it a one score, 28-20 Auburn lead with 6:31 left in the third quarter.

After passing on a field goal earlier in the half, Kiffin would make the same mistake late in the quarter, facing a fourth and seven at the Auburn 13. The nation’s leader in fourth-down attempts (34) and conversions (24) misfired again, this time with the help of Auburn pressure that Corral was forced to throw away because of his limited mobility.

“We knew that they would go for it on fourth down so that was part of our preparation,” Auburn coach Bryan Harsin said. “I think those fourth downs were in the red zone … and we were able to make plays and that’s (taking away) points. If they’re not going to take points in special teams and they’re going to go for it, we can get the ball back. You kind of figure that as a turnover. Those were critical moments of the game that we were able to win.”

A possession later, Ole Miss went from bad to worse. Driving to a first down at the Auburn 14, Corral showed a burst of speed getting away from the Auburn rush, planted his feet at the sideline and threw back toward the middle of the end zone for Pearson. What he found instead was Auburn safety Jaylin Simpson. 

“It’s first and 10, we have some momentum,” Kiffin said. “Just really a play he had not made since last year like that. He’s human. And I think that’s a product of forcing it. You get frustrated when you’re all of a sudden having three and outs to start the second half. That’s a problem when you’re not getting a lot of plays made around you, the run game’s not going well. It’s hard not to press.”

The coach might have been pressing a bit as well. On the Rebels’ next trip into the red zone, the game all but decided, Kiffin again passed up certain points for a fourth and three from the Auburn 18. Again, Auburn held. 

“I’m proud of this team … really more the mentality in this game,” Harsin said. “I didn’t see anyone on the sideline flinch, everybody had the right response in some critical moments to what we needed in the game.”

Auburn (6-2) remained in a tie for first place in the Southeastern Conference West Division with a 3-1 record as the Tigers travel west next week to play Texas A&M. Ole Miss (6-2), all but eliminated from the title chase as the Rebels dropped to 3-2 in conference play, will return home to play Liberty next week.