What they’re saying nationally about Auburn’s 48-34 loss to Ole Miss
Auburn’s run of dominance in its head-to-head series with Ole Miss ended Saturday afternoon.
The Tigers fell to the Rebels, 48-34, in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, as Lane Kiffin’s team amassed 448 rushing yards while handing Bryan Harsin’s program its third consecutive loss. Moreover, it snapped a six-game winning streak in the SEC West series for Auburn, and it marked the program’s fourth-ever loss in Oxford, Miss. None of the previous three Auburn coaches to lose on the road to Ole Miss (Pat Dye in 1992, Tommy Tuberville in 2008 and Gene Chizik in 2012) returned to the Plains the following the season.
Read more Auburn football: “That one sucked”: Ole Miss’ surprise onside kick looms large for Auburn in loss
Auburn’s run defense decimated by Ole Miss in worst performance in 20 years
What Bryan Harsin said about Auburn’s third straight loss
Auburn now heads into its bye week with a 3-4 overall mark and a 1-3 record in SEC play. Ole Miss, meanwhile, is ranked in the top-10 and sits at 7-0 for just the second time since 1962. After a wild track meet at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on Saturday afternoon, here’s a look at some of the headlines and buzz — both nationally and in Mississippi — stemming from the latest meeting between the Tigers and the Rebels:
— Saturday’s effort “may just say something about the fight in this Auburn team.” (The Athletic)
— “Auburn is very much a mess, and Ole Miss very much isn’t.” (Sports Illustrated)
— “The voters won’t penalize Ole Miss for allowing a reeling Auburn team to hang around” (CBS Sports)
— “The Rebels’ run game is fantastic” (Yahoo Sports)
— “We’ll see if Bryan Harsin is still Auburn’s coach” after the bye week (247Sports)
— Ole Miss runs wild, holds off Auburn (Associated Press)
— Ole Miss shows unstoppable offense, porous defense in win against Auburn (The Clarion-Ledger)
— Examining the weird surreality of Ole Miss’ win against Auburn (The Clarion-Ledger)
— When the dust settles for Ole Miss, it’s not how but how many? (Daily Journal)
Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.