Vaught-Hemingway Stadium – Oxford, MS
Kickoff: Saturday, 7:15 p.m. ET
Line: Auburn -4.0, Total: 63.5

#15 Auburn will be going for its fifth straight win when the team faces Ole Miss Saturday night.

If you had said that Auburn would be a College Football Playoff contender after the first three weeks of the season then people would have probably called you crazy. The Tigers, however, have really put together some momentum, as they have now won-and-covered in four straight games. Three of those wins were extremely impressive, as Auburn defeated LSU 18-13 on Sep. 24, Mississippi State 38-14 in Starkville on Oct. 8 and then blew out Arkansas 56-3 at home last week. The Tigers currently have an impressive resume and they would be the best-positioned two-loss team in the country if they were to find a way to win out over these next five games. That won’t be easy, though, as Ole Miss is still an extremely talented team and knows it must win at least three of its next five games in order to get itself into a solid bowl game. Last week, the Rebels lost 38-21 as a nine-point road underdog in Baton Rouge. One thing working in Ole Miss’ favor is the fact that the team defeated Auburn 27-19 as an eight-point road favorite last season. The Tigers are, however, 9-3 SU and 7-5 ATS when playing in Ole Miss since 1992. They are also an impressive 23-8 ATS after gaining 475 or more total yards per game over their previous three games since 1992.

Auburn has emerged as one of the best teams in the nation and the Tigers will be hoping to stay hot against Ole Miss on Saturday. One thing that has been good for Auburn is that the team has stuck with only QB Sean White (1,264 yards, 7 TD, 2 INT) under center. The Tigers started the season off by rotating three quarterbacks, but they have found stability in White and he will need to play well in this game on Saturday. He was just 6-for-11 for 77 yards with a touchdown against Arkansas, but he did add 61 yards and a touchdown on the ground. That game did not call for much passing from White, but he will likely need to make some throws in this game on Saturday. The real guy to look out for in this offense right now is RB Kamryn Pettway (697 yards, 6 TD). Injuries have pushed Pettway into a workhorse role for this Auburn team and he has not disappointed. Over the past two games, Pettway has rushed for 361 yards with five touchdowns. Look for him to stay hot against a lousy Ole Miss defense on Saturday. In fact, look for this Auburn team to continue to run the ball with authority. They rushed for 543 yards against Arkansas last week and should be able to roll again in this one. Defensively, this Tigers secondary is absolutely incredible. They held the Austin Allen-led Razorbacks to just 89 passing yards and will need to be ready to shut down Chad Kelly as well.

Ole Miss has had a poor season, but this is definitely the best four-loss team in the country. The Rebels are absolutely loaded with talent and they are going to play with a ton of heart the rest of the season. This is too good of a team not to play in a bowl game and they know they need to start winning games soon. QB Chad Kelly (2,067 yards, 15 TD, 7 INT) is going to have to be the guy to lead his team to some wins moving forward. It’s going to be tough against Auburn, but Kelly has the arm strength and playmaking ability to shred any defense when he is on his game. That has not been the case recently, though, as Kelly has thrown for just one touchdown in each of the past three contests. Ole Miss would be wise to try to get RB Akeem Judd (382 yards, 4 TD) going on Saturday. If the Rebels are running the ball well then there will be less pressure on Kelly to make plays. He has, however, rushed for only 80 yards total over the past two games and he has gotten a total of 24 carries in those games. Ole Miss should try to get him at least 20 touches in this one to see if they can soften up this elite Auburn defense. Defensively, the Rebels will need to try to stop the run in this game. Auburn is not going to defeat them through the air, so they must try to turn this Tigers team into a throwing one.