The 2016 season is a pivotal one for Auburn head coach Guz Malzahn, who has watched his yearly win total decrease every year since leading the Tigers to the BCS National Championship in 2013. Malzahn was a god on campus after taking over a three-win program from Gene Chizik and winning 12 games. Considering the transformation, Malzahn was given a mulligan on the BCS loss to Florida State. How times have changed. After needing a Birmingham Bowl win last postseason just to finish above .500, the heat has been turned on Malzahn’s seat after a last place finish in the SEC West. The Tigers travel to Ole Miss for their annual meeting on October 29.
College Football Odds at BookMaker.eu
Auburn Tigers +8
Ole Miss Rebels -8
Odds Analysis
The early line opened at Ole Miss -8, the exact same spread as last season’s matchup, which resulted in a push. Should the number hold, it would be the fifth straight year Ole Miss played as the favored team. In the previous four, the Rebels went 1-2-1 ATS.
Last Meeting
Ole Miss kept its SEC West title hopes alive and avenged a loss to Auburn from the previous year with a typically hard-fought 27-19 victory at Jordan-Hare Stadium. The Rebels pulled away in the second half, scoring a pair of touchdowns and a field goal to break a 10-10 halftime tie. Auburn lost its second straight and fell to 4-4 on the year.
It was a redemption game for Rebels receiver Laquon Treadwell, who had seven catches for 114 yards and completed a 21-yard pass to set up a field goal. In 2014, Treadwell saw his season come to an end with a serious knee injury on a catch and fumble late in Ole Miss’ 35-31 loss.
Treadwell caught the game-deciding touchdown pass from Chad Kelly in the fourth quarter and the Ole Miss defense shut down the Tigers the rest of the way. Kelly directed the SEC’s leading offense to 558 yards by completing 33 passes for 381 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
The Series
Original members of the SEC since it was formed back in 1932, the Rebels and Tigers have a brief rivalry by comparison to some of the others within the league. In 2016 the schools will play for the 41st time. The competition has grown more intense over the past three decades with the teams playing annually since 1990.
Until that point, Auburn and Ole Miss had met just 14 times on the gridiron with the first game played before the formation of the conference. Two other matchups occurred in the postseason when the two played in the 1965 Liberty Bowl and the 1970 Gator Bowl. The Ole Miss victory in 2015 was just its second in the last seven contests and the Rebels have lost 29 of the 40 games.
Importance
This matchup doesn’t have the historical importance of others in the SEC. But with the clubs being grouped in the same division, the games always have significance in the standings. And the 2016 iteration appears no different. Ole Miss is expected to slip a bit after the blockbuster 2012 recruiting class is through.
Auburn is looking to bounce back after a sub-par season by its standards. Malzahn is still on the job and much more than a seven-win, Birmingham Bowl appearance is expected.
Betting Angle
Auburn has traditionally put out one of the top offensive clubs in the SEC, that’s why we can say last season was just a blip. The Tigers were bad in 2015, averaging just 173.6 yards through the air and 370 total to rank 94th in the country. That’s not a Malzahn offense. Expect that to change in 2016. If it does, the teams can go back to paying off for over bettors.
The over is 5-2 in the last seven meetings and the teams have played above the scoreline in seven of the last eight meetings in Oxford.
Quick Pick
Hugh Freeze has built a powerhouse at Ole Miss, and even with the losses of that heralded 2012 recruiting class, he returns a solid bunch to the Oxford campus. The excitement entering 2016 surrounds the return of Kelly, who is arguably the best quarterback in the SEC. Last season’s numbers back that up.
Kelly led all players in passing yards, passing yards per game and passing touchdowns. And Freeze believes the former JUCO star is only going to get better, rating him as a Heisman candidate. Ole Miss scored a lot last season and it scored when needed. Repeating that process will again lead to many wins.
NCAA Odds: Ole Miss 33, Auburn 24
Need to fund your account before the big game but don’t have your computer? No problem, BookMaker Sportsbook now offers a mobile betting cashier so you can deposit money directly from your smartphone. Don’t miss out on getting paid because you couldn’t bet, click here and deposit at BookMaker now!
