Auburn Tigers football defeated No. 25 University of Mississippi 33-20 on a rainy Halloween afternoon.
Auburn head coach Gene Chizik said he can't give his team enough credit for the win starting with the seniors.
"That was a very, very good football team that we beat tonight and our kids deserved it because they never quit fighting," Chizik said.
Ole Miss opened the scoring in the first quarter with a touchdown pass by junior quarterback Jevan Snead to senior fullback Andy Hartmann.
Auburn responded on junior placekicker Wes Byrum's 13th field goal of the season from 36 yards. The Tigers were able to find the endzone in the second quarter by way of a senior quarterback Chris Todd pass to sophomore wide receiver Darvin Adams.
Auburn led 10-7 at the half.
Auburn pulled away in the third quarter, scoring 23 points as opposed to Ole Miss' 13.
Chizik said he had never seen a quarter like the third.
"I went from, as everybody did, every gamut, every emotional high and low that we could go in 15 minutes which seemed like 15 days. It was pretty incredible," Chizik said.
Senior tight end Tommy Trott and senior running back Ben Tate had offensive touchdowns and senior cornerback Walter McFadden had an interception return for a touchdown.
Ole Miss returned a kickoff for a touchdown and had a 79-yard touchdown rush by senior flanker back Dexter McCluster.
Ole Miss' senior placekicker Joshua Shene kicked the extra point into his offensive line and the ball was returned for two points by junior defensive back Demond Washington.
"If you look at that, they turned a potential 7-0 swing into a 6-2 swing which is huge," Chizik said.
Auburn's offense accumulated 401 total yards
Todd was 12 for 22 passing on the day for 212 yards and a touchdown.
Tate was the team's leading rusher, gaining 144 yards on 25 carries, including a touchdown run of 59 yards.
Tate eclipsed the 1,000 yard mark for the season and the 3,000 yard mark for his career. He now is fifth on the career rushing yards list at Auburn.
Chizik said Tate just continues to show up and is becoming a team leader.
"He keeps running hard and he does the things we ask him to do to be productive," Chizik said.
Adams led the receiving corps with four catches for 68 yards and a touchdown.
The defense was led by McFadden and sophomore linebacker Eltoro Freeman.
McFadden had two interceptions in the game, including the 29-yard return for a touchdown.
Freeman recorded a team high nine tackles.
Auburn celebrates homecoming next Saturday as the Furman University Paladins visit The Plains. Kickoff is set for 12:30 p.m. CDT.
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