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The University of Mississippi Athletics
GAMEDAY PREVIEW: No. 4 Ole Miss vs. No. 3 Auburn
11/1/2014 | Football
Nov. 1, 2014
It's a historic matchup, featuring the first-ever meeting of top-10 teams in Oxford, and a de facto playoff game with real CFB Playoff implications on both sides.
"I have great respect for the selection committee, and we are honored to be in the discussions at this point, but it's way too early," head coach Hugh Freeze said. "It's good for our fans. It gave them a little boost and hopefully will get them to bring some more energy into the stadium Saturday. There's a lot of ball left and the only one (ranking) that really matters is on Dec. 7 when that final one comes out."
The Rebels' matchup with the Tigers is the final game of a five-game gauntlet that included four games against nationally-ranked teams, which included wins over then-No. 1 Alabama and then-No. 14 Texas A&M and a loss to then-No. 23 LSU.
Despite the loss to LSU, Ole Miss (7-1, 4-1 SEC) remains in control of its path to the Southeastern Conference Western Division title by virtue of its win over one-loss Alabama, and remaining games, both at home against one-loss Auburn (6-1, 3-1) and undefeated Mississippi State on Nov. 29.
They're the No. 4 team in the country coming to our place with a lot on the line," senior quarterback Bo Wallace said. "The guys are going to come in and we're going to have to go to work. We'll have the game plan ready to go and hopefully go out and hopefully perform well."
Ole Miss has been led by nation's best scoring defense (10.5), having given up a nation-low eight touchdowns, and ranks fourth nationally, giving up just 4.35 yards per play. The Rebels also lead in the nation with 17 interceptions, paced by senior cornerback Senquez Golson with eight interceptions, second-most in the nation.
The Ole Miss "Landshark" defense also carries two nation-best defensive streaks into the matchup, having allowed 20 points or fewer in 10 straight games and forced at least one turnover in 31 straight games.
"Before the season started, we knew we had to be more consistent if we wanted to be where we wanted to be," Golson said. "During my four years here, there have been a lot of ups and down, something good followed by something bad, but we have to be more consistent. We take pride in being consistent."
Auburn boasts the SEC's third-best scoring offense (39.3) and the SEC's top rushing attack (281.0 ypg), led by two of the league's top seven rushers in senior running back Cameron Artis-Payne (118.7 ypg) and senior quarterback Nick Marshall (83.0 ypg).
The Tigers carry a similarly impressive streak into the matchup, having scored 20 points or more in every game since the beginning of the 2013, one of five teams in the nation to accomplish that feat.
"They're a solid team all the way around," Freeze said. "Gus (Malzahn) and his staff have done a wonderful job. We have our hands full. We have to hopefully get healthy and get ready to go at home. We'll need our crowd here. We'll need them to give us a little extra energy. The stretch that we have is a difficult stretch without a break. We can't control that. We can control being ready to play Saturday. That's our job. We'll have them ready."
This marks the 39h meeting all-time between Ole Miss and Auburn dating back to 1928. The Tigers lead the series 28-10 overall and 9-3 in Oxford. The Rebels won the last meeting 41-20 in Oxford, while the Tigers won last year's meeting 30-22 in Auburn.
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TV Network: ESPN | Ole Miss Radio Network: (Sirius 85, XM 85)Thursday Blog: Freeze, Rebels Focused on Auburn ShowdownSaturday Blog: Three and Out: Keys to Ole Miss-AuburnOXFORD, Miss. - The College Football Playoff committee released their first top 25 rankings earlier this week, and they included a matchup between two of the top four in No. 4 Ole Miss hosting No. 3 Auburn today (6 p.m. CT, ESPN).
TV Network: ESPN | Ole Miss Radio Network: (Sirius 85, XM 85)Thursday Blog: Freeze, Rebels Focused on Auburn ShowdownSaturday Blog: Three and Out: Keys to Ole Miss-AuburnOXFORD, Miss. - The College Football Playoff committee released their first top 25 rankings earlier this week, and they included a matchup between two of the top four in No. 4 Ole Miss hosting No. 3 Auburn today (6 p.m. CT, ESPN).
It's a historic matchup, featuring the first-ever meeting of top-10 teams in Oxford, and a de facto playoff game with real CFB Playoff implications on both sides.
"I have great respect for the selection committee, and we are honored to be in the discussions at this point, but it's way too early," head coach Hugh Freeze said. "It's good for our fans. It gave them a little boost and hopefully will get them to bring some more energy into the stadium Saturday. There's a lot of ball left and the only one (ranking) that really matters is on Dec. 7 when that final one comes out."
The Rebels' matchup with the Tigers is the final game of a five-game gauntlet that included four games against nationally-ranked teams, which included wins over then-No. 1 Alabama and then-No. 14 Texas A&M and a loss to then-No. 23 LSU.
Despite the loss to LSU, Ole Miss (7-1, 4-1 SEC) remains in control of its path to the Southeastern Conference Western Division title by virtue of its win over one-loss Alabama, and remaining games, both at home against one-loss Auburn (6-1, 3-1) and undefeated Mississippi State on Nov. 29.
They're the No. 4 team in the country coming to our place with a lot on the line," senior quarterback Bo Wallace said. "The guys are going to come in and we're going to have to go to work. We'll have the game plan ready to go and hopefully go out and hopefully perform well."
Ole Miss has been led by nation's best scoring defense (10.5), having given up a nation-low eight touchdowns, and ranks fourth nationally, giving up just 4.35 yards per play. The Rebels also lead in the nation with 17 interceptions, paced by senior cornerback Senquez Golson with eight interceptions, second-most in the nation.
The Ole Miss "Landshark" defense also carries two nation-best defensive streaks into the matchup, having allowed 20 points or fewer in 10 straight games and forced at least one turnover in 31 straight games.
"Before the season started, we knew we had to be more consistent if we wanted to be where we wanted to be," Golson said. "During my four years here, there have been a lot of ups and down, something good followed by something bad, but we have to be more consistent. We take pride in being consistent."
Auburn boasts the SEC's third-best scoring offense (39.3) and the SEC's top rushing attack (281.0 ypg), led by two of the league's top seven rushers in senior running back Cameron Artis-Payne (118.7 ypg) and senior quarterback Nick Marshall (83.0 ypg).
The Tigers carry a similarly impressive streak into the matchup, having scored 20 points or more in every game since the beginning of the 2013, one of five teams in the nation to accomplish that feat.
"They're a solid team all the way around," Freeze said. "Gus (Malzahn) and his staff have done a wonderful job. We have our hands full. We have to hopefully get healthy and get ready to go at home. We'll need our crowd here. We'll need them to give us a little extra energy. The stretch that we have is a difficult stretch without a break. We can't control that. We can control being ready to play Saturday. That's our job. We'll have them ready."
This marks the 39h meeting all-time between Ole Miss and Auburn dating back to 1928. The Tigers lead the series 28-10 overall and 9-3 in Oxford. The Rebels won the last meeting 41-20 in Oxford, while the Tigers won last year's meeting 30-22 in Auburn.
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