Auburn visits Ole Miss on Halloween hoping to bounce back after losing to LSU last week.
This week has very little to do with Ole Miss. Auburn has proven the numbers don't matter. I spent way too much time looking at statistics for this matchup. That time was wasted. Ole Miss could be in for a terrifying Halloween. We have no way to know which Auburn team is going to show up in Oxford. One thing we do know for sure is Auburn cannot afford another collapse on offense.
Ole Miss averages 36 points per game. Auburn has made a habit of falling behind early, and that won't work this Saturday. Trinidad Chambliss is a talented QB who can move the ball through the air and on the ground. We will have to play balanced defense to contain the Rebels. If we can keep from giving up explosive scoring plays we can play red zone defense and hold them to field goals. It's a tall order, but possible.
Byrum Brown is the most important person on the field. His performance will absolutely dictate the game. If he plays well, Auburn will have a good chance to win, but if he struggles... we're going to be doing some sad trick-or-treating. The offensive line protecting him will have some say in that, but that's another question mark that we will have to hope has improved. We know they are capable: Auburn bullied the UGA defensive front, but those improvements were short-lived once LSU came to town.
The offensive line MUST respond to the LSU debacle. Allowing 30 sacks is laughably atrocious. Seven of those came last week vs LSU. Byrum Brown has suffered 600% more sacks than Trinidad Chambliss. No one in the country has had their quarterback sideways more than Auburn. If the offensive line doesn't protect Byrum, this thing will fall apart quickly. It's probably the most important part of the game.
We do have some reasons to be optimistic! DJ Durkin's defense is not anywhere near as bad as they looked against LSU last weekend. Ole Miss mostly relies on the pass, but they are capable of moving the ball on the ground. If Auburn's secondary can force Ole Miss to run the ball that will help take some of the explosiveness out of the Rebels offense.
Speaking of running the ball: Auburn needs to get more out of the running back room. The offensive line play is a big part of it, but the quarterback is still carrying way too much of the load. Joel Gordon needs to find more ways to get the ball to our playmakers (other than Brown). Cobb (320 yds) and Mabson (240 yds) have to gain yards without blocks. Blocking is a luxury we don't have. Byrum Brown has 471 yards rushing alone, and that includes all the negative yardage that comes with THIRTY sacks.
The margin of error is minuscule. We haven't thrown an interception in a few weeks, so hopefully that trend continues. Auburn will have to cause turnovers, and keep explosive plays to a minimum. Scoring only 25 points per game does not allow for errors. I think Alex Golesh saw that the coaching staff failed to prepare the team for LSU. I'm willing to bet that was addressed this week. Auburn should be ready to play like their hair is on fire.