Auburn @ Ole Miss: The Big SEC Battle Today
After being upset by LSU, Ole Miss look to get back in the hunt of the No. 1 AP poll spot as it takes on the No. 3 Auburn. Ole Miss fell from No. 1 to No.4 following its first loss of the season against LSU, 10-7. Auburn has a mark in the ‘L’ column as well thanks to the now No. 1 Mississippi State. Another loss will cause either one of these teams to plummet into the ranking, likely down to 20s where the other teams with two losses lurk. Both Auburn and Ole Miss want to avoid that but one of these teams will have to give.
Ole Miss have lost four of their last five encounters with Auburn. Those games were both straight-up and against the spread. Despite the trends Ole Miss needs a win to stay in the hunt in the top four of the College Football Playoff committee. For that matter, Auburn also needs the win for the same reason.
Ole Miss is favored to win this one by only 1 point. They opened as 3-point favorites but the odds have since closed in on the Rebels.Auburn is 4-1 against the spread in its last five road games aginst SEC rivals. Auburn is also 3-1 against the spread in its last four games as underdogs on the road.
Auburn’s November is a dangerous road gauntlet starting with Ole Miss. After this, they have Georgia and Alabama on the road with a pair of home games against Texas A&M and Samford in between. With a schedule like that, Ole Miss cannot afford to start it with a loss if they are going to stay in the Championship hunt.
Ole Miss is not with out their positive trends though. The Rebels are 4-o against the spread in their last four home games as favorites. In its last ten games against SEC opponents, Ole Miss is 7-3 against the spread.
The Rebels needed to beat LSU last week. They did not. They miraculously clung to the top four and now this is a must-win situation for them. They are still in the tourney hunt, but they will have to play mistake free from here on out.
The total is set at 51 points. The over is a favorite trend. The over is 3-0 for Auburn in their last three games as road underdogs. The over for Ole Miss is 7-3 in their last ten games as home favorites. The over is 4-1 in their last five encounters. Despite those trends, more recent trends show the under may be the favorite to play. Ole Miss has went seven of eight under and are 10 of 11 under going back to last year.
The game starts 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.
