Auburn Tigers Football team (5-3) will face No. 24 Ole Miss Rebels (5-2) in Auburn's first Halloween showdown since 1988.
The Tigers will try to make it three straight wins against the Rebels in Jordan-Hare Stadium while trying to break a three game losing streak to become bowl eligible.
Auburn is coming off a tough 31-10 loss against SEC foe Louisiana State University. Auburn ranked eighth nationally in total offense, averaging 464.9 yards, but managed only 193 yards against LSU, with 151 yards coming in the second half.
"The kids kept fighting," said head coach Gene Chizik. "Like I told them, these are good football teams. We are going to see what we did good and bad and move one"
Senior running back Ben Tate led the offense with 67 yards on 18 carries, while junior Mario Fannin added 56 yards on six carries.
"Tate is running the ball very well," said Ole Miss head coach Houston Nutt in Monday's press conference. "Tate has been their guy. We are really familiar with him and know he runs hard and is very physical"
The Tigers received a much needed extra day of rest when Chizik chose to forgo the usual Sunday night practice and hold a team meeting. The idea was for the team to recover mentally and physically with three more games to go until the Tigers' only bye week.
Auburn is ranked seventh in the nation in rushing offense, averaging 230.4 yards per game, and 19th in total offense (430.9). The Tigers allowed only nine sacks so far which ties for 20th best in the nation.
Along with good pass protection usually comes pass efficiency. The Tigers have thrown 14 touchdown passes so far which is already double that of last season.
The Rebels are coming off a 30-17 win over Arkansas (3-4), a game in which junior quarterback Jevan Snead threw for a career-high 332 yards. Senior wide receiver Dexter McCluster had career highs in rushing, 123 yards, and receiving, 137 yards, against the Razorbacks.
With the win, the Rebels are off to their best start since 2003 and are averaging 35.7 points per game.
Junior defensive end Kentrell Lockett's status is unknown after getting injured in the game against Arkansas.
"He kind of tweaked the inside of his knee, probably a sprained knee," Nutt said. "He felt good and had a good range of motion. We are pretty hopeful that he will be OK."
Saturday's game will be a "Navy Nightmare" theme and fans are reminded to wear the official "Navy Nightmare" or navy colored shirts to the game. The game kicks off at 11:21 a.m. C.D.T. in Jordan-Hare Stadium and is televised by the SEC Network.
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