Ole Miss preview

Auburn takes the field this weekend back in the friendly confines of Jordan-Hare Stadium to take on the Rebel Black Bears of Mississippi. Auburn is coming off one of its worst defeats in recent memory against arguably the best team in the nation. Ole Miss is limping in as well, sporting a 2-5 record, but is coming off a gutsy performance against Arky last week. Ole Miss led 17-0 at one point before Arky came back and won by 5.

Houston Nutt is still the coach at UM despite not being able to win consistently. Most say this game and the egg bowl will be his defining games this year and will likely decide his future as the coach of the Rebels and probably as an SEC coach. Miss has plenty of playmakers but has been hampered by the injury bug. Look for all the stops to be pulled and Ole Miss to play with nothing to lose. Miss has only won one SEC game since 2009 and that was Kentucky. Nutt usually pulls one out that he isn't supposed to and I hope that this isn't this weekend.

Auburn needs to regroup and decide how the rest of the year is going to play out. They have a chance to land a pretty good bowl game with a win Saturday almost guaranteeing them 7 wins. A month of extra practice is so critical at this point with all the young players, that Saturday is very important. I am interested to see how Moseley does with more time to throw the ball and not running for his life. Dyer has to get some carries and the line has to block and the receivers have to get open and catch the ball. Sounds elementary, right? Well, if that happens Saturday, AU wins. If not, it will be close. AU's defense has played better and I expect them to rebound this weekend.

Prediction: Look for AU to bounce back nicely from last weeks beatdown. I do expect UM to play well and possibly way over their heads for a while. If AU can withstand the initial barrage and stay close, I think they win. The key will be if AU can get ahead early, I believe UM will pack it in and AU should win going away. Eliminate stupid penalties and the big play and AU gets bowl eligible and looks forward to a much needed and deserved off week. A 3-2 record during this brutal stretch (not to mention hardest in the nation) with the nation's youngest and most inexperienced team would be a HUGE testament to this coaching staff in what a phenomenal job they have done. Losing 32+ players last year hurt so much more than I thought, but this team/staff has never once complained nor given excuses. They have practiced hard and gotten better and will be great sooner rather than later. Now that I'm off my soapbox:

AU 24 UM 16