OXFORD, Miss. – Auburn exploded for three third-quarter touchdowns while keeping Ole Miss out of the end zone for nearly 58 minutes, winning 31-16 Saturday at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
"We were able to run the football," Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said of the Tigers' 269 rushing yards on 46 carries, a 5.8 yards per carry average. "That's getting back to Auburn football. That's what we've got to do to be successful. We've always been our best when we've been balanced. To have over 200 yards rushing is huge.
"Very good win for our program. I'd like to start out by thanking the Auburn fans who traveled here. They were a big factor today. I really appreciate them being here. It meant a lot to our team."
Nick Coe, with three sacks, and Deshaun Davis, with 13 tackles, led Auburn's defense. Daniel Thomas added a career-high 10 tackles.
"They're a very scary offense," Malzahn said. "For us to hold them like we did, we didn't give up the big plays. That was the plan, to try keep everything in front of us, and tackle. For the most part, we tackled well."
JaTarvious Whitlow rushed for a career-high 170 yards on 19 carries and had a 3-yard touchdown catch on Auburn's opening drive.
Leading 10-6 at the half, Auburn's freshman receivers delivered big plays on a 68-yard drive to start the third quarter. A 21-yard pass to Seth Williams, and a 16-yard Anthony Schwartz run set up Malik Miller's 1-yard touchdown run.
"There's a bunch of young guys who made plays today," Malzahn said.
After Ole Miss answered with a field goal, Whitlow raced a career-long 54 yards before Ole Miss knocked the ball loose near the goal-line. Schwartz recovered in the end zone to put Auburn ahead 24-9.
Derrick Brown then stopped Ole Miss quarterback Jordan Ta'amu for a loss of 2 on fourth-and-3 at Auburn's 36.
One play later, Jarrett Stidham connected with Williams for a 62-yard reception, the longest of Williams' career.
Miller scored from the 2 on the next play, his second rushing touchdown of the game, to make it 31-9. Auburn outscored Ole Miss 21-3 in the first 12 minutes of the second half.
"We played our best quarter in the third quarter and kind of put the game away," Malzahn said.
The Rebels scored their only touchdown on A.J. Brown's 12-yard catch with 2:24 remaining.
Marlon Davidson blocked a field goal for the third straight game, denying Ole Miss a scoring opportunity on the game's first possession.
Whitlow quickly went to work, on his way to the third 100-yard game of his redshirt freshman season. He rushed five times for 35 yards, capping the drive with his first career touchdown catch, a 3-yarder.
Stidham was 13 of 22 for 215 yards and a touchdown. Neither team committed a turnover.
After an off week, Auburn (5-3, 2-3) returns to Jordan-Hare Stadium Nov. 6 for an SEC West showdown against Texas A&M.
"It couldn't be coming at a better time," Malzahn said. "We need to heal up a little bit. Get us a good plan for the next four games to finish this thing off the right way. Today's win will help us in that direction.
"Really happy for our players and our staff. We've still got things we've got to work on. We've got great character on this team. It was a big win for us."
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer
Auburn at Ole Miss postgame notes
- Captains: Deshaun Davis, Ryan Davis, Jarrett Stidham
- Coin Toss: Auburn wins the toss and defers. Ole Miss will receive
- Attendance: 56,885
TEAM NOTES
- First-time starters for Auburn: Christian Tutt, Smoke Monday
- Auburn scored first for the 23rd time in its last 26 games and the seventh time this season
- Auburn has scored in 75 consecutive games, the second-longest streak in school history
- Coach Gus Malzahn has posted his 50th win at Auburn, fifth-most all-time
INDIVIDUAL NOTES/OFFENSE
- JaTarvious Whitlow recorded his third 100-yard rushing game of the season with a career-best 170 yards (previous was 122 vs. Alabama State)
- Whitlow is now fifth all-time among Auburn freshman rushers with 626 yards this season; today he has passed James Brooks (467 in 1977), Stacy Danley (468 in 1987), Chester O'Neal (480 in 1981), Michael Burks (483 in 1998), Onterio McCalebb (547 in 2009), Tommy Agee (604 in 1983) and Carnell Williams (614 in 2001)
- Whitlow scored his first career receiving touchdown in the first quarter. The TD pass from Jarrett Stidham was Stidham's eighth TD pass of the season and the 26th of his Auburn career
- Whitlow's 54-yard rush in the third quarter was a career long
- Ryan Davis is now third among Auburn career receiving leaders with 146 career receptions, and ranks 17th in Auburn career receiving yardage (1,330), passing Alexander Wright (1,320 from 1986-89)
- Jarrett Stidham to Ryan Davis is the second most productive pass tandem in Auburn history, with 123 completions; the Auburn record is 140 completions by Pat Sullivan to Terry Beasley (1969-71)
- Stidham recorded his fifth 200-yard passing game of the season and the 15th of his Auburn career;
- Stidham is seventh among Auburn career passing leaders with 4,872 yards, passing Reggie Slack (4,697 from 1986-89)
- Malik Miller scored his second and third rushing touchdown of the season, his first career multiple-score game
- Anthony Schwartz' touchdown in the third quarter was his third rushing and fifth score of the season
- Seth Williams' 62-yard reception was a career long
INDIVIDUAL NOTES/DEFENSE
- Nick Coe's three sacks are a career high
- With 226 career tackles, Deshaun Davis ranks 10th among Auburn career tacklers since 2000, passing Travis Williams (214 from 2001-05), Jermaine Whitehead (218 from 2011-14) and Karlos Dansby (225 from 2001-03). David tied his career high today with 13 tackles
- Deshaun Davis recorded his ninth career double-figure tackle game
- Jamien Sherwood recorded his first career sack
- Daniel Thomas recorded a career-best 10 tackles, his first career double-figure tackle game
INDIVIDUAL NOTES/SPECIAL TEAMS
- Auburn holds the SEC record for consecutive PAT with 251, the longest current streak in the nation. Anders Carlson is now 23-23 on PAT for his career.
- Marlon Davidson has blocked an opponent field goal attempt in three consecutive games. The last Auburn player with three blocks in a season was Alton Moore in 2001