Auburn Football: Post-spring game-by-game predictions for 2019
Auburn has traditionally been a tough mountain for Ole Miss to climb, with the Tigers taking the last three meetings and the Rebels earning just three wins in the series over the last 15 years. Don’t expect much to change in 2019.
Matt Luke was effectively given a mulligan in his first two seasons as Ole Miss’ head coach as the program dealt with the ramifications from NCAA sanctions. With the bowl-ban over, the clock starts ticking for Luke as he begins year three. Unfortunately for him, the job has gotten unquestionably tougher with all the Rebels must replace.
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No team in the FBS lost more offensive production than Ole Miss. Gone is quarterback Jordan Ta’amu, a trio of talented receivers, including D.K. Metcalf and A.J. Brown, and three starting offensive linemen. New quarterback Matt Corral has talent, but he won’t have the advantage of a steady veteran at receiver to lean on.
Instead Corral, under new offensive coordinator Rich Rodriguez, might lean heavily on senior running back Scottie Phillips. Phillips rushed for 928 yards and 12 touchdowns as a junior, and he might be in line for an even more increased workload in his final season in Oxford.
Whether or not the Rebels can scrape together the requisite six wins to garner bowl eligibility might depend on what former Colorado head coach Mike MacIntyre can do with one of the nation’s worst defenses from last season. There’s some talent to work with, particularly on the defensive line headlined by Benito Joens and Qaadir Sheppard, but with the offense almost certainly taking a step back, it might take a significant surge forward defensively to improve on last season’s 5-7 mark.
Auburn shouldn’t have much trouble here at home.
Pick: Auburn 41, Ole Miss 21 (6-3, 3-3)