It was going to happen eventually, and they knew it.
Auburn players had watched Ole Miss quarterback Chad Kelly carve up their defense like a scythe, and nothing they were doing seemed to matter. He was too quick on his release. He was too in-tune with his receivers. He was impossibly precise with where the ball needed to be on each pass. It seemed like he couldn’t — wouldn’t — blink.
But then, just once, he did blink. And that’s all it took.
Kelly threw, his receiver slipped, and the ball found Josh Holsey instead. He returned the interception 47 yards, down to the Rebels’ 25-yard line, to set up the touchdown that would seal Auburn’s 40-29 win over Ole Miss, and despite allowing a monsoon of yardage, the defense came up big when it mattered most.
“It was just a matter of time,” said Carl Lawson. “I feel like we’d been getting some pressure on him, and after a while things started to unfold. An offense like that, even though they’ve got some tricks, it’s going to reveal itself and Holsey made the play.”
Whatever those tricks were, they had Auburn stymied early on. Ole Miss scored on its first five drives, a pair of touchdowns followed by three field goals. Kelly surpassed 200 passing yards after just one quarter, and the game was on track to be a shootout.
For every drive the Rebels skewered Auburn through the air on, though, the Tigers countered by flat-out running over Ole Miss on offense.
Kamryn Pettway had a career-high 236 yards on 30 carries. The Rebels had no answer for Pettway in the trenches, so Auburn kept going back to him. And then they did some more. He’s vaulted to the top of the SEC rushing leaderboards, and he’s earning comparisons to players like Jerome Bettis from his teammates.
“He’s a beast, that’s all I can say,” said Darius Slayton. “The man’s a beast. He just runs the ball extremely well.”
Pettway was spelled by Kerryon Johnson, who returned from injury to run for 42 yards even if he wasn’t quite at 100 percent yet. Johnson scored twice, both on direct snaps from short-yardage, and the second one put the game out of reach midway through the final quarter.
Sean White was his usual efficient self: 15-22, 247 yards and a touchdown. He didn't put up the flashy numbers Kelly did, but he didn't need to. Not with an unstoppable rushing attack moving at will behind him.
The game being close late, especially on the road in a hostile environment, was cause for concern, however. Auburn hadn’t yet been forced to face adversity, and guys like senior Alex Kozan were worried that the lack of down-to-the-wire contests would rattle the younger players, who are playing big roles on the team. But instead of shrinking in the moment, the Tigers grew up.
Auburn had its feet to the fire and came out unscathed. They’ve rattled off five wins in a row, they’ve found their identity, and they’re clicking.
“Good teams find a way to win,” Lawson said. “That was good for our confidence, a real good win for our confidence.”
“You just feel like you have a lot of positive energy around you, like things are going in the right direction, and we’ll just be able to build on this win,” Slayton echoed.
Of course, it’s always tricky to peg wins ahead of time because anything can happen, but Auburn’s next three games are winnable. That would set the stage for an Iron Bowl with potential SEC West implications, should the cards fall Auburn’s way.
If that does happen, Auburn will be ready. They’ve fought through adversity, on the road, from behind. And they knew it would happen. It just took some time.
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.
