Fans of Auburn Tiger football have seen this movie before.
With sophomore Sean White at the helm, Auburn snared off a six-game winning streak in the middle of the 2016 season, thanks to stellar offensive improvement.
Those Tigers suffered a similar early-season fate as their 2017 counterpart — sluggish offense and lackluster play calling.
For White's offense, the turn-around came on the road at Mississippi State in Week 6, after the Tigers had claimed their first two games of the winning streak at home against LSU and Louisiana-Monroe. Auburn was a favorite in the game against the Bulldogs, however the offense had severely struggled against Power 5 competition early on, averaging 16 points per game against the likes of Clemson, Texas A&M and LSU.
The contest that most considered a trap game got ugly fast. Auburn grabbed a 35-0 halftime lead and eventually took the game in Starkville, Mississippi by a score a 38-14.
Auburn narrowly climbed into the rankings at No. 21 following the win, but had to turn right around and play No. 17 Arkansas in Jordan-Hare the next week. The Tigers blasted the Razorbacks, 56-3, putting up 543 rushing yards in the process, a SEC regular-season game record.
To Auburn fans and to themselves, the Tigers were back, and had a complete team with a newfound focus on their prolific offense.
Jarrett Stidham's offense faced a similar two-game gauntlet this season, leading off with a road matchup at Missouri. Auburn was again favored, but questions still remained as to how Stidham and company would perform following abysmal showings in the past two games against Clemson and Mercer.
Thanks to a newfound deep ball threat in Stidham, the Tigers rolled over Mizzou to the tune of 51-14. Like Arkansas in 2016, Auburn was set to come home the next week to take on a ranked opponent.
Auburn tore apart Mississippi State, 49-10 for the team's first back-to-back 30 point wins over conference competition in over 30 years. Stidham looked the part of a true offensive leader and, with an already established defense, the Tigers can go nowhere but up for the rest of the year.
Next on the chopping block for Malzahn's squad is a reeling Ole Miss team, fresh off a 66-3 beatdown at the hands of No. 1 Alabama.
"I think the biggest thing to get across to the team right now is we're 2-2," Ole Miss head coach Matt Luke said following the loss. "We're no better, we're no worse than 2-2."
While Ole Miss' record doesn't yet signal complete panic mode, the Rebels haven't had impressive showings in the two wins or the two losses. Sophomore quarterback Shea Patterson's offense took care of business against South Alabama, however South was within a field goal at halftime. The next week against the University of Tennessee-Martin, Luke's team had a nearly identical game in which they clinged to a one-point halftime lead but pulled away against the FCS defense in the second half.
Against a pair of Power 5 schools this season, Ole Miss has been outscored 93-19. In those two road losses to California and Alabama, Patterson turned in just two touchdowns to five interceptions.
The Rebels lost head coach Hugh Freeze early in the offseason, and self-imposed a postseason ban this past February due to NCAA rule violations. Freeze had a 2-3 record against the Tigers, with the team's last win in the series coming in 2015 on The Plains. Auburn has won 21 of the last 27 since 1990 and leads the all-time series, 30-11.
Auburn is hitting their stride looking for their fourth-straight win, with an offense that is improving fast and a defense that ranks No. 9 nationally. Against a pass-happy Patterson and Ole Miss, Auburn ranks No. 5 in the country in fewest passing yards per game.
Although the Tigers will be a three-touchdown favorite on Saturday, don't expect the Rebels to lay down lightly. Ole Miss isn't playing for a conference title or a bowl game, but Luke believes his young group can move on past the Alabama loss and make the most of the remainder of their season.
"They have to keep their confidence. I think that's the biggest thing," Luke said. "We have to go back to simplify, we have to go back to work. That's the only way to get the bad taste out of your mouth."
For Auburn to eclipse the largest margin of victory in the series' history of 40 points, it's going to take another near-perfect performance akin to the Mississippi State game.
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