Another anemic offensive performance dropped Auburn (3-3, 1-2 SEC) from No. 48 to No. 50 in ESPN’s College Football Power Index following Saturday’s 42-10 loss against Georgia at Sanford Stadium.

Auburn was ranked #11 in the preseason. The Tigers fell to #27 after beating Mercer and to #40 after a comeback win against San Jose State before losing by 29 points against Penn State, which dropped the Tigers to #51 in the weekly rankings developed by the network in 2013 to predict game and season outcomes.

Auburn dropped to #52 after the overtime win against Missouri. Head coach Bryan Harsin’s squad went up to #51 after blowing a 17-0 lead in a 21-17 loss against LSU before the 32-point defeat against the defending national champion Georgia Bulldogs.

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The Tigers have the most challenging remaining schedule in America, starting a visit to No. 9 Ole Miss (6-0, 2-0) for an 11 am CT kickoff at Vaught-Hemmingway Stadium. The Football Power Index gives the Rebels an 85.5 percent chance of beating Auburn. It’d be a rare win because the Tigers are 13-2 in Oxford and have won six straight, including last season’s 31-20 win at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

“They’re a very good opponent. It is going to be a challenge for us as we get ready for these guys to go on the road and again handle the noise, handle the travel,” Harsin said. We haven’t handled all those things. We have an early ball game, so it comes back to us, what we have to do this week and our focus and how we get prepared to go out there and play another undefeated team.”

During the preseason, the FPI had the Tigers projected 7.4 wins to 4.6 losses. This week the FPI has Auburn with 5.0 wins and 7.0 losses, with games against the Rebels, Arkansas, Texas A &M, Western Kentucky, and the Iron Bowl against Alabama remaining on the schedule. Auburn has a 30.8% chance of winning six or more games and becoming bowl eligible, according to the FPI.

Ole Miss has an offensive efficiency rating of 82.7%, 12th in the nation, compared to Auburn at 43.0 % at 87th. The Rebels put up over 50 points in last week’s win against Vanderbilt, while Auburn has scored 48 points in three SEC games.

Auburn will have to find a way to score more points if they’re going to upset the highly favored Rebels.

“The one thing for Ole Miss is that they go fast. That’s not always the key factor in the game; for us, it’s just about execution,” Harsin said. “It’s about staying on the field and putting the ball in a position where we can sustain those drives, execute our third downs, create field position and ultimately get in the red zone and find ways to score.”