Auburn Football: Game-by-game predictions for 2020 season

A week after losing the neutral site clash against the Tar Heels, the Tigers will have to get back on their feet and get ready for a trip to Mississippi to take on another upstart team in the Ole Miss Rebels.

There’s a lot of optimism surrounding the Rebels after bringing in Lane Kiffin to be the new head coach and fans are hoping he can return them to the winning ways they experienced under Hugh Freeze.

Ole Miss will be hoping that sophomore quarterback John-Rhys Plumlee can make the strides he needs to as a passer, after completing only 51 percent of his passes last season and was much more effective as a runner. The big question for the Rebels will be fixing a defense that ranked 120th against the pass last season.

Kiffin will get the Rebels trending in the right direction, but this game will be a fifth straight Auburn victory in this SEC West series.

Final Score: Auburn 45, Ole Miss 24 (2-1, 1-0 SEC) 

To wrap up the month of September, Auburn will host Southern Miss and will be looking to close the month out with a 3-1 record. These two teams last met in 2018 when Auburn won a closer than expected game 24-13. The Golden Eagles have produced a winning season every year under head coach Jay Hopson and with 17 starters returning, they will be looking to get things rolling in 2020.

Southern Miss had one of the best passing games in the country last year, but they must find a way to replace wide out Quez Watkins who left early to go to the NFL. Getting better with pass defense will also be a big key to success for the Golden Eagles this season.

Southern Miss has built a solid program, but the Tigers win comfortably here.

Final Score: Auburn 42, Southern Miss 20 (3-1)