Grading win over Ole Miss

[aubiefifty 16,754]

Grading Auburn's 31-16 win against Ole Miss

By Tom Green | tgreen@al.com | Posted on October 21, 2018 8:13 AM | Updated October 21, 2018 8:13 AM

Auburn stopped a two-game skid, surging past Ole Miss for a 31-16 win on Saturday in Oxford, Miss. It was a much-needed win for the Tigers, who head into the bye week 5-3 overall and 2-3 in SEC play. As Auburn prepares for the timely off week, AL.com takes a position-by-position look at how the Tigers fared against the Rebels with our weekly report card.

 

Quarterback: B

It was an overall decent game for Jarrett Stidham, who completed 13-of-22 passes for 215 yards and a touchdown. His final line was victimized by a couple of drops, most notably on what would have been a deep touchdown pass to Darius Slayton, but Stidham still had five passes of at least 20 yards, including ones of 62 and 35 yards in the second half.

 

Running backs: A-

For the first time since the Alabama State game in Week 2, and for the first time against an FBS opponent since last November against ULM, Auburn eclipsed the 200-yard rushing mark. The Tigers finished with 269 yards rushing and three touchdowns while averaging 5.8 yards per rush against the Rebels. Boobee Whitlow led the way, rushing for a career-best 170 yards on 19 carries (8.9 yards per run) and adding 38 yards receiving and a touchdown before exiting late in the third quarter with an undisclosed injury. Malik Miller stepped in and scored two touchdowns in goal-to-go situations, and Shaun Shivers was effective as a change-of-pace back to spell Whitlow at times. 

Whitlow's big night put Auburn on pace to have a 1,000-yard rusher this season, if he stays healthy. The only real knock on the backfield were a pair of fumbles, one each by Shivers and Whitlow, though Auburn recovered both -- including an end-zone recovery by Anthony Schwartz for a touchdown after Whitlow's fumble at the end of a 54-yard run.

 

Wide receivers: B

Darius Slayton, Seth Williams and Anthony Schwartz all had eventful and productive days for Auburn. Slayton dropped a would-be touchdown on a deep ball from Stidham for the second week in a row, but he made up for it with a 35-yard reception. Williams wasn't targeted until early in the third quarter, when Auburn's offense went off, but he finished the game with 83 yards receiving and averaged 41.5 yards per target. Schwartz had a pair of receptions for 16 yards, added a 16-yard run and scored a touchdown on Boobee Whitlow's fumble into the end zone.

H-backs/tight ends: B

Any time the run game has the kind of success it had against Ole Miss, the H-backs and tight ends will have had a hand in it. That was the case Saturday, during a game that the position wasn't really involved in the passing game, when Chandler Cox had some key blocks in the run game, particularly near the goal line.

 

Offensive line: A

This looked like perhaps Auburn's best performance from the offensive line this season. Sure, it came against a porous Ole Miss defense, but progress is progress, and the Tigers' decision to stick with the same five along the line paid off -- even if those five didn't finish the game together, as Jack Driscoll left the game in the first half with a knee injury and was replaced by Austin Troxell. The line helped grade the road for Auburn's rejuvenated run game, which averaged 5.8 yards per carry, and it did a better job keeping Jarrett Stidham upright, allowing just one sack and three hurries. The Tigers could stand to do better in finishing pass blocks, but overall it was a step in the right direction for a unit that had been the biggest weakness of the offense this season. 

 

Defensive line: A

Auburn matched its season high with five sacks against Ole Miss, and four of them were courtesy of the defensive line. Nick Coe had three sacks and finished the game with four total tackles and a hurry, while Marlon Davidson had the other. Davidson was all over the place, finishing with three tackles, a sack, a pass breakup, and he blocked a field goal for the third straight game. Big Kat Bryant and Andrew Williams each had a hurry as Auburn did its best to contain Ole Miss quarterback Jordan Ta'amu, who rushed for 43 yards while passing for 324. For the game, Auburn held Ole Miss to 123 rushing yards but just 3.2 yards per carry.

 

Linebackers: A

Deshaun Davis is a man on a mission. Playing through a lower-right leg injury (he was in a walking boot after the game), Davis led Auburn with 13 total tackles, including eight solo stops, a tackle for a loss and a pass breakup. He surpassed his position coach, Travis Williams, on the program's career tackles list Saturday. Darrell Williams, meanwhile, had five stops. Auburn's linebacker corps did a solid job of containing Jordan Ta'amu, helping limit the dual-threat quarterback to just 43 rushing yards on 19 attempts. It also limited Scotte Phillips, who entered the day second among SEC running backs in total rushing yards, to just 59 yards on 17 carries.

 

Auburn defensive back Javaris Davis knocks a pass away from Ole Miss wide receiver Braylon Sanders during the first half.

Cornerbacks: B-

A.J. Brown is a monster. The Ole Miss junior receiver is one of the most talented receivers in the nation, and he showed why against an Auburn secondary that was without starting corner Jamel Dean. Brown got his numbers -- 10 receptions for 155 yards and a touchdown -- though three of those catches for 30 yards and the touchdown came in the fourth quarter with the game well in hand. While Brown did his part, Auburn's secondary generally did well in limiting Ole Miss' explosive passing attack. Jordan Ta'amu completed 27-of-46 passes for 324 yards, with Auburn accounting for pass breakups on seven of those incompletions. Javaris Davis was called for a pair of pass interference penalties, but he also finished the game with five tackles and two pass breakups. Noah Igbinoghene matched that line as well.

 

Ole Miss wide receiver DaMarkus Lodge is tackled by Auburn safety Daniel Thomas.

Safeties: B

Auburn had to play the first half without starter Jeremiah Dinson, with Smoke Monday getting the start in his place while Dinson watched from the locker room. The group's play was highlighted by Daniel Thomas, who racked up 10 tackles and a pair of hurries. The biggest play from the position came from freshman Jamien Sherwood, who sacked Jordan Ta'amu on a third-down blitz when Ole Miss was in the red zone and forced the Rebels to settle for a field goal. Dinson returned in the second half and finished with one tackle.

 

Auburn's Marlon Davidson blocks a field goal in the first half. 

Special teams: C+

Let's start with the good: Marlon Davidson blocked a field goal for the third straight game and became the first Auburn player since 2001 with three blocked kicks in a season. Punter Arryn Siposs also averaged 44.7 yards per punt (and 44 per net punt), with two downed inside the 20. Noah Igbinoghene also broke off a 39-yard kick return.

Now for the bad: Anders Carlson's struggles continued. The redshirt freshman kicker was 1-of-3 on field goal, making a 28-yarder while missing kicks of 47 and 48 yards. He's now 11-of-21 on the year. Auburn also mishandled a kickoff, with Darius Slayton unable to corral a squib kick that ultimately pinned the Tigers at their own 4-yard line.

Rogelio V. Solis/AP Photo

Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn watches a replay on a giant monitor during the second half.

Coaching: B+

Gus Malzahn promised some tweaks on offense, and while they weren't overwhelmingly evident, there were some subtle changes that paid dividends for Auburn. Malzahn and his staff did a great job coming out of halftime, as Auburn's third quarter (21 points, 228 yards and 13.4 yards per play) was its best of the season and was ultimately the difference in the game. Kevin Steele did a good job of getting his defense to bounce back after two straight letdowns, with the group coming up particularly big in the red zone, where Ole Miss scored just one touchdown on four trips inside the 20.

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.

[autan 737]

Good job. I might have given DBs a C+. But the problems were understandable considering starters being out.  Definite improvement though from previous week. WDE!!

[alexava 6,973]

I didn’t read the whole thing. I got to the part critical of Slayton for dropping the long TD. This is wrong. The DB got one hand on him and the other on the ball. It was a great throw. Just defended too well. This catch would have been a ESPN highlight for sure.