Ole Miss football was back in action Saturday as the Rebels hosted the Auburn Tigers and fell in an ugly 31-16 SEC West loss.
Ole Miss football (5-3, 1-3) hosted the Auburn Tigers (5-3, 2-3) Saturday at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford. The Rebels entered the SEC West match-up coming off a 37-33 SEC road win over the Arkansas Razorbacks. Auburn entered Saturdays game coming off a 30-24 home loss to Tennessee.
The Rebels received the ball first but failed to score on a Luke Logan FG as a result of a blocked kick. The Tigers got on the board first with a TD to take a 7-0 lead in the game. The Rebels responded with a 36-yard Luke Logan FG and the Tigers took a 7-3 lead into the 2nd quarter. Luke Logan added a 37-yard FG to cut into the Tigers lead to 7-6. Auburn added a FG to take a 10-6 lead into the second half.
The Tigers added a TD in the early 3rd quarter to take extend their lead to 17-6. Luke Logan added another FG to cut the Tigers lead to 17-9. The Tigers scored two more TDs in the 3rd to take the 31-9 lead into the 4th quarter. The Rebels finally found the end-zone on a 12-yard pass from Jordan Ta’amu to AJ Brown to cut the Tigers lead to 31-16. Sadly the Rebels couldn’t find more points and the final was a 31-16 loss. We will take a look at the game by the numbers.
By The Numbers
Ole Miss Rebels
The Ole Miss Rebels offense was responsible for 447 yards of total offense with 324 coming thru the air and just 123 yards on the ground. Rebels senior QB Jordan Ta’amu went 27 of 46 for 324 yards and 1 TD. Ta’amu also had 19 carries for 43 yards on the ground.
Junior All-American AJ Brown led the NWO with 10 receptions for 155 yards and 1 TD. Senior DaMarkus Lodge had 5 receptions for 84 yards while JUCO transfer Scottie Phillips had 2 receptions for 20 yards.
Sophomore Braylon Sanders had 3 receptions for 18 yards while freshman RB Isaiah Woullard had 2 receptions for 13 yards. Junior TE Dawson Knox had 2 receptions for 11 yards.
It was a rough day for JUCO transfer Scottie Phillips who led the Rebels on the ground with 17 carries for 59 yards while freshman Isaiah Woullard had 3 carries for 21 yards.
Defensive Numbers
Sophomore linebacker Mohamed Sanogo led all Rebels on defense with 16 tackles in the game and .5 TFL. Senior DB Zedrick Woods had 9 tackles with 1 forced fumble while junior Vernon Dasher had 8 tackles. Willie Hibbler had 6 tackles while junior Qaadir Sheppard also had 6 tackles and .5 TFL. Freshman DB Keidron Smith had 5 tackles while junior DB Jalen Julius had 4 tackles and 1 forced fumble.
Observations
This was another case of the Rebels offense being shut down in the red-zone by a dominant defense. Coach Phil Longo has the Rebels moving well between the 20’s but the play-calling in the red-zone was terrible for Ole Miss and the Rebels converted for 1 TD in 5 red-zone trips. Scottie Phillips was running hard but most of his plays were on RPO in between the tackles and he should have been used more out of the backfield.
On the defensive side of the ball you couldn’t really ask the Rebels to do much more than hold the Tigers to 31 points. This defense is getting better as the season progresses and have their best football ahead of them. One area of concern is the injury situation which could be a huge factor as coach Wesley McGriff and the Rebels moving forward. Luckily the Rebels have a much-needed bye week to rest and recuperate.
The Rebels will be back in action Saturday October 3rd when they host the South Carolina Gamecocks. Please be sure to check back here at OHT for the latest Rebels news and updates and be sure to visit and like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter. We have a lot to talk about in the coming days. Hang in there Rebel Nation. Hotty Toddy!