Auburn's fourth quarter woes on both sides of the ball continued as Ole Miss scored 24 of the game's final 27 points to win 41-20, dropping the Tigers to 0-4 in the SEC for the first time since 1980.
The Tigers turned in a mercurial performance that, at times, showcased a powerful running game and precise passing, complemented by a defense that tightened up when it needed to. However, it was also one that more often than not left fans from the Plains feeling something was lacking, especially once the fourth quarter rolled around. Auburn was outscored 17-0 in the fourth quarter and gained only four total yards of offense, bringing the season scoring in the final frame to a remarkable 62-3.
The Tigers have lost a conference-high six straight SEC games, with five of those losses being by 17 or more points.
"We had some unique things happen in the fourth quarter and failed to capitalize on a couple of opportunities," said Auburn coach Gene Chizik after the game. "But the guys played hard down to the end and never quit."
Auburn quickly fell into a 14-0 hole after a methodical nine-play, 80-yard drive was capped off by a 25-yard touchdown on a trick pass from former Rebel quarterback Randall Mackey, to current quarterback Bo Wallace.
Auburn's next drive was finished two plays after it began as a Tunde Fariyike snap soared over Clint Moseley's head and into the end zone, where it was recovered by Ole Miss' C.J. Johnson for a score and a 14-0 lead.
Auburn struck back with a long, run-heavy drive that ate nearly seven minutes off the clock and went 74 yards in 13 plays. Tre Mason was the star of the drive and punched it in from a yard out to pull Auburn within seven.
Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze decided to gamble on Ole Miss' next drive, going for a fourth and one from just inside his own 50. Auburn defensive back Jermaine Whitehead made a huge play, stopping Mackey at the line of scrimmage, putting the ball back in Moseley's hands in great field position.
The Auburn drive stalled, however, and they were forced to punt, downing it at the six-yard-line.
The swing in field position helped Auburn immensely and on its first play from scrimmage after receiving the ball back, Moseley aired it out to receiver Sammie Coates for a 42-yard pick-up to the Ole Miss six. Tre Mason scored his second touchdown on the next play, and Auburn tied it at 14-14.
On the ensuing kickoff Auburn kicker Cody Parkey recovered his own on-side kick, briefly stunning the Vaught-Hemingway Stadium crowd. The offense then had a big drive stall after reaching the Rebel red zone, due to a false start and a five-yard loss by Onterio McCalebb. The team settled for a field goal to take a 17-14 lead with a minute to go in the half. Moseley went into halftime 8-8, passing for 90 yards with no sacks.
Ole Miss ran the show from that point on.
A quick drive nearly put the ball in the end zone before Freeze decided to take a field goal as the first-half clock expired, tying the game at 17 as the Oxford crowd of 57,068 prepared to watch its homecoming festivities.
Ole Miss came out of the gate for the second half on a tear and marched 73 yards in just four plays to retake the lead at 24-17 and didn't look back. Though Auburn held its own for the rest of the third quarter, the offense only managed a 31-yard field goal by Parkey, and it was 24-20 as the teams geared up for the fourth quarter - which was again Auburn's undoing.
After an Ole Miss field goal early in the fourth that made it 27-20, the teams swapped possession before an 11-yard Ole Miss punt whimpered out-of-bounds inside its own 40, seemingly giving the Auburn offense at least three points. After an initially confusing moment following the punt, the officials - who were mostly invisible all game - called an offside penalty on an unidentified Auburn defender and allowed a re-kick. There was a 40-yard difference following the re-kick, and Auburn was backed up to its own 20.
From there, the offense didn't muster much and the implosion culminated with what is sure to be an Ole Miss fan favorite video for years to come. Running back Jeff Scott - who ran all over Auburn all day - broke a short checkdown pass on third and 19 for a 55-yard touchdown, after nearly everyone in the stadium thought he was down short of the first down markers. A review showed the call of a touchdown was correct and the Rebels' fans made the stadium the loudest it had been all day. After the game, Whitehead said though there are no excuses for that kind of play, he felt maybe the players let up because they were worried about receiving a flag for roughness after the play.
The 34-20 score proved overwhelming at the end for the Auburn offense, and a Moseley interception led to a Wallace touchdown run, sealing the win at 41-20. Wallace became the first quarterback in Ole Miss history to throw, receive and rush for a touchdown in the same game, bringing back bittersweet memories of Cam Newton's Oxford performance two seasons ago.
Moseley's second half was abysmal, even before comparing it to his perfect first half. He finished the half 3-10 for 22 yards, with two sacks and an interception.
Auburn is 1-5 for the first time since 1998. Perhaps a streak of sunlight in the storm surrounding Chizik's program is the fact that Auburn never seems to stay down too long. Dating back to Pat Dye's hire over thirty years ago, Auburn has followed up a losing season with a nine-win season no more than two years later.
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