No. 9 Ole Miss Tops Auburn at Home, Remains Undefeated
OXFORD, Miss. -- The No. 9 Ole Miss Rebels allowed the Auburn Tigers hang around for a bit on Saturday afternoon, but they finished off the conference rival in a 48-34 final score at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
Ole Miss (7-0, 3-0 SEC) opened up a 21-0 lead on the Tigers in the first half before Auburn was able to cut the lead to 21-14 in the second quarter. The Rebels took a 28-17 lead into the locker room at halftime behind three passing touchdowns from Jaxson Dart and a rushing score from Zach Evans.
Out of the intermission, Auburn received the ball to start, and Tank Bigsby found the end zone on a 50-yard rush to pull the Tigers within four. A Jonathan Cruz field goal put the Rebels back up by seven, but his shining moment of the game came on the ensuing kickoff when he perfectly executed a surprise onside kick to give Ole Miss the ball near midfield.
That Rebel possession was capped off with a rushing touchdown from Quinshon Judkins, one of three total scores from the back on the day.
Dart was not called on excessively in the passing game, but he did surpass the century mark and throw for three scores in the win. He also was a vital part of the rushing attack, helping Ole Miss surpass 300 yards on the ground. Evans, Judkins and Dart were the lead rushers for the Rebels.
In the receiving department, Dayton Wade had a strong showing, hauling in a score along with Evans and Judkins.
With the win, Ole Miss sits with a perfect 7-0 record and a 3-0 mark in conference play. Next week, the Rebels will travel to Baton Rouge to face the LSU Tigers, and kickoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. CT on CBS.
You can follow John Macon on Twitter at @JMakeGillespie.
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