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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebels To Tangle With No. 4 Auburn Saturday
10/25/2004 | Football
Oct. 25, 2004
OXFORD, Miss. - After an open week, the Ole Miss Rebels (3-4, 2-2 SEC) return to action this Saturday when they take on the Auburn Tigers (8-0, 5-0 SEC) in Oxford. Kickoff from Vaught-Hemingway Stadium/Hollingsworth Field is set for 6:45 p.m., with ESPN televising the contest.
Ole Miss head coach David Cutcliffe says the team used the bye week to work on the fundamentals of football, and that it is now time to concentrate on an Auburn team that is ranked No. 4in all the major polls, including the BCS standings.
"Auburn is, by far, the best team we've played this year," Cutcliffe said. "They are very strong in all three phases of the game (offense, defense and special teams). We have an important week of preparation ahead of us and that will begin this afternoon."
Ole Miss enters Saturday's game using not one, but three quarterbacks. Sophomore Ethan Flatt has drawn the start in the Rebels last five games. The Nashville, Tenn., native has completed 91 of 159 attempts for 1,074 yards and all four of the Rebels touchdown passes. Redshirt freshman Robert Lane has seen action in Ole Miss' last two outings. The Monroe, La., native completed the first pass of his career in the Rebels 21-17 loss to then No. 13 Tennessee. Lane has rushed 11 times for 60 yards and a touchdown. Junior Micheal Spurlock has also seen action this season, going 29-of-69 for 332 yards.
Vashon Pearson continues to spur the running game for the Rebels with 608 yards on 122 carries and three TD's. Redshirt freshman Alan Abrams is second on the team in rushing with 153 yards on 33 carries. Junior Brandon Jacobs leads the team in rushing TD's with five.
The Rebels have used a number of receivers in every game, with at least 13 players who having recorded a catch this season. Junior Mario Hill leads the team in both catches and yards with 28 for 354 yards. Juniors Mike Espy and Taye Biddle are second on the team in catches and yards, respectively. Espy has 20 catches for 178 yards, while Biddle has 10 catches for 196 yards. Senior fullback Lorenzo Townsend leads Ole Miss in TD catches with two.
Defensively, sophomore defensive back Charles Clark leads the team in total tackles with 48, including 36 solo stops. Senior linebacker and team captain Rob Robertson is second on the team in total tackles with 43, including 32 solo stops, and five TFL's. Fellow senior and team captain Eric Oliver is third on the list with 39 tackles, 28 solo.
In special teams, senior place-kicker Jonathan Nichols enters Saturday's game a perfect 112-for-112 in PAT attempts, the longest active streak in the nation. With his five points scored against Tennessee, Nichols moved into seventh place on the SEC's career scoring list with 321 points. Senior Cody Ridgeway leads the SEC in punting with an average of 42.6 yards per punt. Junior Mike Espy currently is leading the Southeastern Conference in kickoff returns with 21.1 yards per return.
Auburn, coached by Tommy Tuberville (coached at Ole Miss from 1995-98), leads the SEC in scoring, averaging 35.38 points while holding opponents to only 9.13 points per game.
Offensively, Auburn is led by quarterback Jason Campbell. The senior enters Saturday's contest having completed 103 passes for 1,490 yards and 13 TD's. Campbell also leads the SEC in pass efficiency with a rating 176.9. Senior running backs Carnell Williams and Ronnie Brown lead the Tigers in rushing with 766 and 589 yards, respectively. The duo has combined for 14 touchdowns.
Defensively, the Tigers are lead by linebacker Travis Williams. The junior has recorded 44 total tackles, including 28 solo stops. Senior defensive back Junior Rosegreen leads both the team and the SEC in interceptions with five.
Ole Miss won last year's meeting, a 24-20 win in Auburn, to snap a three-game losing streak to the Tigers. The last five meetings have been decided by an average of 6.4 points.
