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Ole Miss Football: 3 takeaways from tough loss to Auburn in Week 8

By Connor Muldowney

Oct 24, 2020; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Auburn Tigers defensive tackle DaQuan Newkirk (44) attempts to sack Mississippi Rebels quarterback Matt Corral (2) during the first half at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 24, 2020; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Auburn Tigers defensive tackle DaQuan Newkirk (44) attempts to sack Mississippi Rebels quarterback Matt Corral (2) during the first half at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports /
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Oct 24, 2020; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi Rebels quarterback Matt Corral (2) after the game against the Auburn Tigers at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 24, 2020; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi Rebels quarterback Matt Corral (2) after the game against the Auburn Tigers at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports /

1. Ole Miss isn’t too far off from contending

Football is a game of inches. Right now, Ole Miss doesn’t have those inches.

The Rebels lost in a competitive opening game against a playoff-contending Florida team, beat a solid Kentucky team on the road, held their own against Alabama in a shootout and tripped up against Arkansas before giving Auburn all it could handle on Saturday.

Ole Miss isn’t too far off from being a contender in the SEC. No, I’m not talking about this season, but give the Rebels a year or two under Lane Kiffin and they’ll be pushing some perennial favorites.

Just look at the games they’ve lost. The Rebels were within striking distance of Florida and Alabama and played their sloppiest game of the year against Arkansas. They probably should have beaten Auburn on Saturday, but a touchdown with under two minutes left by the Tigers changed that.

Ole Miss could very well be 2-3 or 3-2 with a couple of close losses against top-five teams, but let Kiffin get his guys on campus and those tough defeats will turn into big wins.

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