No. 3 Auburn's College Football Playoff hopes are alive after their 35-31-shootout victory at No. 4 Ole Miss.
"I talked to the team before the game and basically I told them that this is a playoff game for us," senior linebacker Kris Frost said. "Going into this game, it was the biggest game of the season for us so far. We know that every game just gets bigger and bigger from here on out and we just have to take care of what we need to take care of."
After their quick touchdown opening drive, Auburn could not continue its momentum for the majority of the first half as their 10 penalties for 105 yards proved to be costly for the Tigers.
Auburn came out strong ready to play as soon as they elected to receive the ball to start the game, as they completed a 73-yard drive in less than three minutes. After Nick Marshall's two-yard touchdown run capped off the opening drive, Auburn's offense began to slow down for the rest of the half, completing three punts and an interception.
After Auburn's defense forced a three-and-out on Ole Miss' first offensive drive, the Rebels bounced back for the rest of the first quarter. Their next drive was good for 11 plays and 92 yards as Ole Miss tied it up at 7 following a four-yard touchdown run from I'Tavius Mathers.
Ole Miss took the 14-7 lead after Bo Wallace had a career-high 59-yard rushing attempt and then completed the drive with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Laquon Treadwell.
After Marshall's 57-yard touchdown pass to Sammie Coates, Ole Miss ended the first half by taking the 17-14 lead after a 47-yard field goal.
Auburn picked up where they left off in the first half, since the first play of the second half was a late hit 15-yard penalty against them. But the defense responded by forcing a turnover on downs when Ole Miss failed to convert on 4th-and-1.
Ole Miss' defense retaliated by forcing an Auburn three-and-out and then increased their lead to 24-14 after Bo Wallace's 50-yard touchdown pass to Evan Engram.
Auburn's offense then responded with a crucial 3rd-and-11 conversion from Marshall's 41-yard completion to D'haquille Williams. Marshall capped off the drive himself with another two-yard touchdown run to come within three of the Rebels.
After forcing another punt, Auburn's offense put together an 11 play, 96-yard touchdown drive, which ended with an 18-yard touchdown pass from Marshall to Marcus Davis to put Auburn on top 28-24 at the end of the third quarter.
Marshall's stat line for the game was 15-for-22 with 254 passing yards and two passing touchdowns, as well as 50 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns.
The shootout continued in the fourth quarter as Ole Miss began with a seven play, 75-yard drive resulting in a three-yard touchdown run from Wallace.
Auburn continued the scoring back-and-forth trend on the following drive with a nine play, 75-yard drive, which was finished by Cameron Artis-Payne's six-yard touchdown run. Artis-Payne rushed for 143 yards and a touchdown on the night.
Ole Miss drove the length of the field again on their next drive but Derrick Moncrief forced a Bo Wallace fumble in the red zone to give Auburn the ball back.
Ole Miss then forced an Auburn punt and Auburn committed its third late hit penalty of the game after the punt return.
Ole Miss then scored on what was originally ruled a touchdown from Treadwell, but after further review it was ruled a fumble that Auburn's Cassanova McKinzy recovered in the end zone, to ultimately clinch the road test victory.
"I knew when the play ended it wasn't a touchdown," McKinzy said. "It was just a good play for our team, and we came through in the end."
Frost was the one who forced that fumble to seal the Auburn win.
"Treadwell is a very fast and physical guy so when my teammates held him up, I felt the ball was loose and I made a play," Frost said. "I enjoy playing on the road. This was such a great atmosphere and it definitely felt like a playoff game."
Auburn returns home next Saturday to face off against Texas A&M at 2:30 CT in Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
