Quinshon Judkins, Zach Evans and Jaxson Dart each rushed for over 100 yards as No. 9 Ole Miss beat Auburn 48-34 on Saturday in Southeastern Conference play at Oxford, Miss.
In defeating Auburn at home for the first time since 2012, with one victory later vacated, the Rebels led 21-0 but saw the Tigers make it a one-score game three times in the second half.
Judkins ran for 139 yards on 25 carries with two TDs on the ground and one receiving for Ole Miss (7-0, 3-0 SEC), while Evans notched 136 yards on 21 attempts with a rushing and receiving score.
Dart went 9 of 19 for 130 yards with three touchdowns and an interception, while also rushing for 115 yards on 14 carries. Dayton Wade caught a TD pass for the Rebels.
Ole Miss rushed for 448 yards on 69 carries and totaled 578 yards of offense.
Tank Bigsby carried 20 times for 179 yards and two scores for Auburn (3-4, 1-3), while quarterback Robby Ashford was 8 of 17 for 140 yards and two interceptions. He rushed for 35 yards and two TDs.
On its third series, Ole Miss was set up when safety A.J. Finley made a diving interception of Ashford. Dart then found Wade from 35 yards out for a TD and a 7-0 lead with 6:42 remaining in the opening quarter. Dart pushed it to 14-0 when he hit Evans for 23 yards with 2:43 remaining in the first quarter.
Following three ineffective series, Auburn replaced Ashford with T.J. Finley, who hadn’t played since Sept. 17 with a shoulder sprain. Early in the second quarter, a fumble recovery by defensive end Jared Ivey on a sack of Finley, in the quarterback’s only series, led to Evans’ 3-yard run and a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter.
Auburn answered with a pair of 2-yard scoring runs from Ashford and Bigsby to trim the deficit to 21-14 in the second quarter. Judkins’ 7-yard catch for Ole Miss and Anders Carlson’s 42-yard field goal for Auburn had the Rebels up 28-17 at halftime.
After Bigsby’s 50-yard TD run early in the second half got Auburn to within 28-24, Jonathan Cruz booted a 23-yard field goal for a 31-24 edge. Following a successful onside kick, the Rebels cashed in on the extra possession with Judkins’ 5-yard run for a 38-24 lead.
Ashford’s second TD cut it to 38-31, but Cruz (42 yards) and Carlson (28) traded field goals as Ole Miss led 41-34.
Judkins’ 41-yard burst with 6:26 remaining provided the final margin, but Ole Miss had to wait out a nearly hour-long weather delay to snap its six-game losing streak in the series.
–Field Level Media
