The dream of a perfect season is dead for the Ole Miss Rebels after they fell to LSU in Death Valley on Saturday. But the possibility of a College Football Playoff berth is still alive for the Rebels if they can recover in time to beat Nick Marshall and the visiting Auburn Tigers, whose only loss of the season thus far came in the state of Mississippi.
Over in the Big 12, offensive juggernauts TCU and West Virginia meet up in what promises to be a high-scoring and highly-entertaining affair in Morgantown. Read up on that mouth-watering matchup here after previewing this crucial SEC showdown in Oxford.
[sc:NCAAFArticles ]Auburn Tigers vs. Ole Miss Rebels Betting Preview
Where: Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, Oxford
When: Saturday, November 1, Time TBD
Line: Auburn Tigers (+2) at Ole Miss Rebels (-2) – view all NCAA Football lines
Betting on the Auburn Tigers
The Auburn Tigers were given all they could handle by unranked South Carolina at home, but the defending SEC champions had just enough firepower to find a way past the Gamecocks in a 42-35 shootout. Despite the win, the Tigers have now failed to cover four out of their last five games.
[sc:NCAA240banner ]The offense hasn’t quite hit the levels of last year’s impressive run, but it’s slowly getting there. Quarterback Nick Marshall was magnificent with 228 total yards (139 passing and 89 rushing) and four touchdowns (one passing and three rushing). The Tigers as a team rushed for a season-high 395 yards, with lead back Cameron Artis-Payne rushing for 167 yards and a touchdown.
The Auburn running attack should be encouraged heading into their game against Ole Miss after seeing the once-resolute Rebels run defense surrender 264 rushing yards to LSU on Saturday.
However, the Tigers must also be wary of their own defense, which has surrendered 73 points in its last two games. Worse still, they haven’t shown that they’re capable of stopping either the run or the pass. Mississippi State gashed them for 223 yards and four touchdowns on the ground and Dylan Thompson of South Carolina carved them up for 416 passing yards and five touchdowns.
The one silver lining in the Auburn defense is its ability to create takeaways. The Tigers have picked off opposing quarterbacks four times in their last two games. Ole Miss’ quarterback Bo Wallace, who hasn’t been playing well in the last couple of weeks, also has knack for making bad throws which the Auburn D could capitalize upon.
Betting on the Ole Miss Rebels
Ole Miss may have missed its chance to win the SEC West after a disappointing 10-7 road loss at LSU, its first loss – both straight up and against the spread – this season. Ole Miss is now 7-1 SU/ATS overall.
The Rebels had a very good chance to at least tie it up late as they marched up the field to get to within field goal range. But a horrible delay of game penalty moved them back five yards before an ill-advised pass from quarterback Bo Wallace resulted in a game-ending interception.
Their excellent defense lived up to the hype, though, holding the Tigers to just 10 points and forcing four turnovers. The Rebels now have 17 picks in their first eight games, the most in the nation. However, their offense was just nowhere to be found.
That’s because quarterback Bo Wallace was painfully ineffective once again. Wallace went just 14-of-33 – the second game running where he’s completed less than 50 percent of his passes – for 176 yards with one touchdown and that costly interception at the death. Wallace could easily have thrown at least two more picks, but the LSU defense bailed him out by failing to hold onto the football.
It goes without say that Wallace and the Ole Miss offense needs to play better against Auburn, if only to give their defense some rest. The Ole Miss D gradually wore down as LSU consistently pounded the ball on the ground, while their offense couldn’t stay on the field because it converted just 5-of-17 third-down attempts.
Writer’s Prediction
Marshall and the Auburn rushing attack wears out Ole Miss, whose offense can’t produce the points to hang with the Tigers. Take Auburn (+2) to win and cover in Oxford. Create a betting account now to wager on more SEC conference games with huge playoff implications.
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