It’s hard to complain too much about a 30-point victory, especially one that included 28 unanswered points to close out the game.
But Ole Miss certainly gave Pete Golding and his coaching staff some things to work on during Saturday’s 45-15 win over Auburn.
The Rebels allowed the Tigers to hang around much longer than they probably should have, needing a strong second half to turn a 17-15 game into a comfortable victory.
And with No. 3 Georgia coming to Oxford next weekend, some of Saturday’s mistakes could prove considerably more costly if they happen again.
Here are three things that went wrong for Ole Miss against Auburn.
Too many penalties
Ole Miss committed eight penalties for 95 yards against Auburn.
That’s not a particularly encouraging number, especially considering six of Auburn’s 24 first downs came courtesy of Ole Miss penalties.
And several of those flags were particularly costly.
Late in the first half, Sharif Denson was called for a facemask on a Byrum Brown scramble. A few plays later, Nick Cull committed defensive holding that wiped out an apparent sack and gave Auburn another first down.
The Tigers eventually kicked a field goal to cut Ole Miss’ halftime lead to 14-9.
Then, in the third quarter, Dorian Barney was called for pass interference that moved Auburn from the Ole Miss 34-yard line to the 19. Brown eventually scored a touchdown to cut the Rebels’ lead to 17-15.
The Rebels were fortunate that most of those mistakes didn’t ultimately change the outcome. Against Georgia, they may not be as fortunate.
Auburn’s third-down conversions
Ole Miss finished with four sacks and 10 tackles for loss, which looks nice in a box score. But there were plenty of situations where the defense couldn’t get off the field.
Auburn converted seven of its 14 third-down opportunities, and the distances make that number even more frustrating. Six of the Tigers’ 11 third downs needed them to gain at least seven yards. They were also successful on three of five attempts requiring 10 or more yards.
That’s a problem.
In the first quarter, Auburn converted third-and-9 with an 11-yard completion to Chas Nimrod.
During its first touchdown drive, the Tigers converted third-and-13 with a 24-yard completion to Nimrod and third-and-8 with an 8-yard pass to Christian Neptune.
Later, Auburn converted third-and-10 with a 23-yard completion to Neptune during its field goal drive before halftime.
It wasn’t as if Ole Miss was consistently allowing Auburn to reach third-and-short. The Rebels repeatedly put the Tigers in difficult situations, only to let them escape.
To the defense’s credit, things improved in the second half. Auburn converted only two of six third downs after halftime, and two fourth-quarter sacks helped put the game away.
Deuce Alexander’s no good, very bad day
Alexander finished with five catches for 59 yards, which isn’t a terrible afternoon on paper.
But make no mistake, Saturday will be a day Alexander would like to forget.
The mistakes started in the first quarter when Alexander dropped a deep pass on a trick play from wide receiver Traylon Ray that would have been an easy, walk-in touchdown.
In the second quarter, Chambliss threw an interception on a pass that went through Alexander’s hands, bounced off his facemask and flew into the air where an Auburn defender grabbed it.
Things didn’t get much better after halftime.
Alexander muffed a third-quarter punt that Ole Miss was fortunate to recover. The play resulted in a 12-yard loss on the return, and a separate illegal block penalty pushed the Rebels back another 10 yards.
Later in the quarter, Alexander committed a false start while Ole Miss was driving in Auburn territory.
To his credit, Alexander also made some good plays, including a 25-yard reception that helped set up a third-quarter field goal.
But the mistakes piled up.
Ole Miss has enough offensive weapons that it could overcome those issues against Auburn. With Georgia coming to town, the Rebels need Alexander making more plays than mistakes.
