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Auburn survives thriller with Ole Miss

Nov 2, 2014 - 3:43 AM Oxford, MS (SportsNetwork.com) - Nick Marshall accounted for four touchdowns and Kris Frost forced a critical fumble at the goal line with 1:30 remaining that preserved third-ranked Auburn's 35-31 victory over No. 7 Ole Miss, as well as the Tigers' chances for a second straight appearance in the national title game.

A showdown that was in essence a de facto elimination game for the College Football Playoff saw three lead changes in the final 17 minutes, the last Cameron Artis-Payne's 6-yard run that put Auburn ahead with 10:23 left.

There was very nearly a fourth. The Rebels' Laquon Treadwell took a slip screen in the red zone and weaved his way toward the goal line with under two minutes to play, but was dragged down from behind by Frost and lost the ball just before crossing the plane.

Cassanova McKinzy recovered the fumble -- which was initially ruled a touchdown and overturned -- for Auburn (7-1, 4-1 SEC), which later held off one last-ditch effort from the Rebels to assuredly keep its spot in the coveted top four of the College Football Playoff rankings.

"Our guys find ways to win when it is close. Our guys truly believe they are going to win the game if it is close," Tigers head coach Gus Malzahn said. "They made plays defensively and offensively to win the game."

The defending BCS runner-up Tigers entered the colossal matchup third in the first edition of the rankings, with Ole Miss (7-2, 4-2) one place behind in fourth.

Treadwell needed to be carted off the field after fracturing his left leg on the pivotal play, ending an otherwise sensational night for the sophomore in which he racked up 103 yards and a touchdown on a career-high 10 catches.

Bo Wallace added 362 yards and two touchdowns on 28-of-40 passing for the Rebels, but also lost a costly fumble deep in Auburn territory in the fourth quarter that helped send Ole Miss to a second straight loss following a 7-0 start.

"It was a great college football game against two really good teams," Rebels head coach Hugh Freeze remarked. "It doesn't take away any of the steam that's in that locker room right now when you felt like you played well enough to win it. It's disappointing."

Marshall completed 15-of-22 attempts for 254 yards and two touchdowns with an interception, and ran for two scores as well to trigger Auburn's comeback from a 10-point third-quarter deficit.

Artis-Payne had 138 rushing yards on 27 carries, with Sammie Coates accumulating 122 yards and a touchdown on five catches for the Tigers.

Wallace also delivered a 3-yard touchdown run on the second play of the fourth quarter that gave Ole Miss a 31-28 edge, but Marshall and Auburn responded by marching 75 yards in nine plays to move back in front.

The biggest play came on 3rd-and-9 from the Tigers' 26, with Coates coming down with a jump ball down the middle of the field for a 41-yard gain to the Rebels' 34.

Artis-Payne followed with a 14-yard run on the next snap to get Auburn in the red zone, then crossed the goal line shortly afterward for the eventual winning score.

"You have to take your hats off to (Auburn's) offense," said Rebels linebacker Serderius Bryant. "We had a pretty good game plan coming into it, but they found little creases in it to gash us."

The Rebels got down to the Auburn six on the subsequent possession, with Treadwell extending the drive with a 17-yard grab on 3rd-and-6. However, Wallace had the ball popped loose by Derrick Moncrief while fighting for yardage on a sneak, and Frost pounced on the fumble with 6:31 left to end the threat.

Ole Miss began its next series near midfield with 3:22 to go and quickly moved back into scoring range, but Treadwell's 19-yard catch-and-run ended in both injury and a turnover that effectively sealed the outcome.

"They were killing us with slants the entire game," said Frost of the late fumble. "Treadwell is a very fast and physical guy so when my teammates held him up, I felt the ball was loose and I made a play."

The Rebels owned a 17-14 halftime advantage and extended it by capitalizing on excellent field position early in the fourth quarter. After beginning near midfield courtesy of a 20-yard shank by Auburn punter Daniel Carlson, Evan Engram caught a short pass from Wallace and shook off a defender before outsprinting the defense for a 50-yard touchdown.

Auburn's high-powered offense, held mostly in check during the first half, then unleashed back-to-back scoring drives to shift momentum.

A 7-play, 73-yard sequence was highlighted by Marshall's escape of heavy pressure and 41-yard deep strike to D'haquille Williams on 3rd-and-11. The dual-threat quarterback later finished the trek with a 2-yard plunge that brought the Tigers within three midway through the third quarter.

Marshall was a perfect 5-for-5 on Auburn's next possession, a clutch 11-play, 96-yard series that concluded in Marcus Davis' 17-yard TD catch for a 28-24 Auburn lead.

Engram's 29-yard down-the-seam grab on the following drive preceded Wallace's head-first 3-yard dive into the end zone that briefly gave Ole Miss the upper hand.

Auburn was able to march down the field with ease on the game's opening drive, with Marshall completing his first three throws that included an 18-yard, third-down strike to Williams that put the ball on the Ole Miss 2. Marshall faked a sweep on the following snap and ran in on a designed draw to stake the Tigers to an early 7-0 edge less than three minutes in.

The Tigers then proceeded to have four of their next five possessions end in punts, with the lone exception an interception Marshall threw to ball-hawking corner Senquez Golson with Auburn situated in the red zone.

Ole Miss put up a pair of touchdowns with the Tigers' offense struggling, the first coming on an impressive 11-play, 92-yard jaunt capped by I'Tavius Mathers' 4-yard run on third-and-goal with four minutes left in the opening quarter.

Wallace made good on 7-of-8 passes during the lengthy series, with Vince Sanders hauling in three of them for 62 yards.

A career-long 59-yard scramble by Wallace down the left sideline set up Ole Miss' next score, a 10-yard catch-and-run by Treadwell on a quick screen that put the Rebels up 14-7 with 6:02 left in the second quarter.

Marshall pulled Auburn even just over 4 1/2 minutes later with a well-thrown deep ball that Coates snared for a 57-yard touchdown late in the first half.

A pass interference call on the Tigers negated a third-down stop during the ensuing drive, and Wallace found Cody Core for a 14-yard gain on the subsequent play to position Gary Wunderlich for a successful 48-yard field goal that sent Ole Miss into the break up 17-14.

Game Notes

Auburn improved to 9-1 in games decided by eight or less points since the start of last season, with the lone loss coming to Florida State in January's BCS title game ... The Rebels entered the game leading the FBS ranks in scoring defense (10.5 ppg) and allowed over 20 points for the first time this season ... Treadwell was one of three Ole Miss players to eclipse 100 receiving yards, with Engram amassing 123 on eight catches and Sanders gaining 105 on seven receptions ... Golson's interception was his ninth this season, one shy of an Ole Miss record set by Bobby Wilson in 1949 ... Since 1970, Auburn is 15-0 against the Rebels when rushing for over 200 yards. The Tigers had 253 on Saturday ... The game marked the first-ever meeting of top-10 teams in Oxford.