Auburn vs. Ole Miss: Score and Twitter Reaction
No. 3 Auburn defeated No. 4 Ole Miss on the road in a thrilling 35-31 affair fraught with implications for the SEC West and the inaugural College Football Playoff.
Auburn was able to hold on for a win in a truly bizarre and devastating fashion. Down 35-31 late in the fourth quarter, Ole Miss quarterback Bo Wallace hit wideout Laquon Treadwell with a crisp pass.
Treadwell appeared to take the ball across the goal line, but a vicious tackle twisted his leg and he let go of the ball. Auburn recovered the resulting fumble and would go on to close out the game.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
The Big Lead's Jason McIntyre summarized the unfortunate turn of events:
Here is a look at the quarter-by-quarter score:
| Auburn | 7 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 35 |
| Ole Miss | 7 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 31 |
Both teams came into the game with just one loss each in conference play. With so many great one-loss teams hanging around in other conferences, it was clear from the start that the losing side would have virtually no shot at reaching the College Football Playoff.
The contest truly lived up to the pregame hype, as the Tigers and Rebels spent the majority of the contest trading haymaker blows.
Auburn jumped out to an early 7-0 lead, with dual-threat quarterback Nick Marshall capping off a 73-yard drive by calling his own number on a two-yard touchdown run.
The Rebels tied the game on an I'Tavius Mathers run with four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, setting the tone for the back-and-forth affair.
Marshall started off the second quarter with an ugly interception, one of his only true mistakes on the night, but Ole Miss couldn't take advantage and were forced to punt after a three-and-out.
Treadwell—who finished the game with 10 receptions for 103 yards—put the Rebels out in front 14-7 with a 10-yard touchdown catch, but Auburn answered right back with a huge play. Marshall hit wideout Sammie Coates for a 57-yard touchdown pass to tie the game at 14 apiece.
Coates flashed great speed on the play, and Auburn Tigers provided a look at the big score:
Ole Miss would add a field goal just before halftime to go into the locker room with a 17-14 lead.
The Rebels offense was clearly in much better sync than it was in their 10-7 loss to LSU in Week 9. However, USA Today's Dan Wolken noted the offensive line wasn't of great help in this one, although credit should also go to the Tigers' aggressive, hard-hitting defense:
Wallace did well to bounce back from a disastrous performance against LSU, and he finished this contest with 341 passing yards, three touchdowns (two passing, one rushing) and no interceptions.
The Rebels would add to their advantage on just their second drive of the third quarter. Wallace hit wideout Evan Engram for a 50-yard bomb, extending Ole Miss' lead to 24-14 and whipping the home crowd at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium into a frenzy.
Marshall was having none of it, leading the Tigers to two straight scoring drives to take a 28-24 advantage heading into the final frame.
He notched his second rushing touchdown of the day on yet another plunge from the 2-yard line and then engineered a 96-yard clock-eater of a drive that ended in a 17-yard touchdown pass to Marcus Davis.
ESPN Stats & Info pointed out that the Rebels' vaunted defense hadn't suffered this much abuse in quite some time:
Auburn's official Twitter account, via ESPN, provided a look at the thrilling go-ahead score:
Wallace would return the lead to the Rebels with a three-yard touchdown run at the beginning of the fourth quarter, but the 31-28 lead was not long for this world. Running back Cameron Artis-Payne delivered a 35-31 advantage to the Tigers with a bulldozing six-yard touchdown run.
The high-scoring game was certainly a surprise to those expecting a classic defensive battle between two SEC powerhouses.
With time running out, Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze put his faith in Wallace. The senior quarterback marched his team into the red zone, completing several passes to Treadwell.
On 2nd-and-1 from the Auburn 6-yard line, Wallace would drop back to pass but felt pressure immediately. He stepped up and made a break for the line of scrimmage, but he would have the ball jarred loose as a pair of Auburn defenders brought him to the turf.
SportsCenter relayed the play, while ESPN Insider Travis Haney gave his take:
Neither team would be able to capitalize on its next drive, setting the stage for Ole Miss' bizarre finish. Wallace had done well to connect with Treadwell all game long, so it made sense he would go to his favorite target in crunch time.
With just over two minutes remaining, Wallace found Treadwell streaking toward the end zone. However, a crushing tackle forced a fumble and sent Treadwell to the locker room with a severe leg injury. CBS Sports' Dane Brugler noted the gruesome nature of the play:
The Associated Press' John Zenor added how Treadwell was taken off the field:
The Tigers would recover the fumble, but the offense couldn't seal the deal. A quick punt gave Ole Miss one last chance to pull off the win. Wallace couldn't come up with the big play at midfield, throwing three straight incompletions before a last-ditch lateral play fell well short as the clock hit double zeroes.
Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn was well aware of his team's penchant for pulling out unlikely victories, per Haney:
Auburn now appears to have an inside track at a playoff spot, but that is far from a foregone conclusion with a brutal schedule in the coming weeks. Auburn still has to play Georgia and Alabama on the road this season, not to mention a potential trap game at home against Texas A&M on Nov. 8.
Should they somehow escape from that gauntlet unscathed, the playoff committee would be hard-pressed to find a reason to exclude the Tigers from getting a shot at the national title.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
