One year, nearly to the day, after he suffered a gruesome, season-ending leg injury against Auburn, Laquon Treadwell finally received an opportunity to exact his revenge.
In the week leading up to the game, Treadwell said Auburn would “feel my pain,” and the Auburn defense did just that.
Auburn (4-4, 1-4 SEC) was torched for a season-high 558 yards on 91 plays, the highest total since Oct. 19, 2013, when the Tigers gave up 602 yards to Texas A&M in College Station.
Most of the struggles came through the air, where Auburn surrendered 402 yards. The total, which included 381 passing yards from Ole Miss quarterback Chad Kelly, was 125 yards more than the Tigers had given up through the air in any game this year.
Senior defensive back Blake Countess said the fast tempo of Ole Miss’ no-huddle offensive attack presented problems for the defense.
“We got to get lined up good and get our cleats in the dirt and play ball,” Countess said. “We got to make those 50-50 plays down the field.”
Early on, Auburn contained Ole Miss (7-2, 4-1 SEC), holding the SEC’s best statistical offense to 70 yards and only three points in the first quarter.
Despite giving up 160 yards and a touchdown in the second quarter, Countess’ interception on Ole Miss’ last offensive possession of the first half kept the score tied.
After halftime, the floodgates opened.
Auburn allowed 7.5 yards per play and three third-down conversions on seven attempts.
“We really have to make more plays and get off the field, not give their offense another chance to throw another pass or run another play,” Countess said. “We got to make defensive stops when we can, and we got to get the ball back.”
Auburn climbed back to be within a point in the fourth quarter, but it was Treadwell who slammed the door in the Tigers’ faces. The junior receiver beat Carlton Davis on a go route down the left sideline for a 21-yard score that sealed the victory for the Rebels.
“We countered a few times and came up with some big stops,” said senior linebacker Kris Frost. “Just needed to come up big when we really needed it.”
Auburn will now prepare to travel back to College Station for the first time since the defense’s dreadful performance at Kyle Field in 2013.
Frost said the process of preparation will not change for the defense, regardless of the lack of results so far.
“In this conference there’s going to be a whole lot of ups and downs,” Frost said. “It’s a constant roller coaster. The important thing is staying even-keel … It’s a gauntlet that we go through, but we just have to really prepare the best we can to get ready for next week.”
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