SEC Power Rankings: Missouri Making a Move
By Ben Nielsen
Oct 5, 2013; Auburn, AL, USA; Mississippi Rebels receiver Donte Moncrief (12) gets past Auburn Tiger defenders and scores a touchdown during the fourth quarter at Jordan Hare Stadium. The Tigers beat the Rebels 30-22. Mandatory Credit: John Reed-USA TODAY Sports
9. Ole Miss Rebels
Record: 3-2 (1-2)
Previous Ranking: 7
Last Week: Auburn 30, Ole Miss 22
This Week: vs. #9 Texas A&M
Next Week: vs. LSU
While it was an embarrassing performance, losing to Alabama is nothing to shake a stick at. Losing to Auburn is a different matter.
Auburn is definitely a better team than what people thought they would be in the preseason and the game was on the road, so it isn’t an upset of epic proportions. But if Ole Miss is going to be an ascending team then they need to win games against teams like Auburn. And they especially cannot have breakdowns with their team’s strength.
Ole Miss’ managed three points in their first five drives of the game and then combined for -5 yards in four of their five fourth quarter drives. The tough start and finish on offense combined with the inability to contain Nick Marshall killed the Rebels chances of winning.
Now comes back-to-back games against Texas A&M and LSU, which could leave Ole Miss at 0-4 in the SEC.
The good news here is Ole Miss can beat A&M at home if they can somehow recapture their running game momentum. Ole Miss started the season rushing for over 200 yards in each of their first three games only to rush for a total of 190 yards in their last two games combined. Leading rusher Jeff Scott has just 14 carries in his last two games combined. The Rebels need to get Scott going again for them if they are going to get back on track.