Auburn, Ala. (EETV)- No. 18 Auburn upsets No. 10 Ole Miss, 31-20, in Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday. With the win, Auburn moves to 6-2 on the season and 3-1 in SEC play.
"We needed to put the ball downhill and thats what we did," said senior offensive lineman Brandon Council.
Auburn’s offense got off to yet another quick start scoring on the opening possession of the game. Quarterback Bo Nix scored the game's opening touchdown with an 11 yard rushing touchdown. The first of his two on the ground.
"[Bo Nix] is a weapon with his legs and he's using them," said head coach Bryan Harsin
Tank Bigsby and the Auburn run game returned in a big way on Saturday night. Auburn rushed for 207 yards on 46 carries. Bigsby himself rushed for 140 yards and one touchdown.
Bigsby’s lone rushing touchdown was a one yard run where he leaped over the line to break the plane. “When I jumped I said oh yeah that's a touchdown,” said sophomore Tank Bigsby. “It was a perfect time to do it because the line all went low.”
Bo Nix had another good performance against Ole Miss. The junior went 22-for-30 for 272 yards through the air and picked up a touchdown pass along the way. Nix added to the ground game rushing for 46 yards and two touchdowns.
“Consistency is key at the quarterback position and he's continued to do that,” Harsin said.
For the first time since Sept. 18 linebacker Owen Pappoe was on the field for Auburn. Pappoe in his return totaled five tackles including one for a loss.
“[Owen Pappoe] was the missing piece of defense,” said senior cornerback Roger McCreary. “I feel like [Pappoe] was the reason the defense was successful today.”
Pappoe’s partner in the middle of the Auburn defense,Zakoby McClain, had yet another outstanding performance totaling 14 total tackles. 10 of which were solo efforts.
McClain and Pappoe helped stop the potent Ole Miss rushing attack, holding them to only 157 yards on the ground. Ole Miss came into this matchup rushing for 250 yards per game.
"Don't matter what you do the Auburn defense is gonna be ready," said cornerback Jaylin Simpson.
Auburn will look to use the momentum from back-to-back upset victories when they head to College Station, Texas to take on No. 14 Texas A&M
