Formerly annual rivals playing in the Southeastern Conference’s West Division, Auburn and No. 12 Ole Miss will meet Saturday afternoon in Oxford, Miss., for the first time in three years.
The game might define the season for the Rebels (5-2, 3-2), who have just one future contest against the three SEC teams in front of them — a Nov. 7 home game against Georgia.
Ole Miss fell 34-27 at then-19th-ranked Texas last Saturday in a game that unfolded as two separate halves of dominant play from each side.
Trailing 24-3 at halftime, the Rebels rallied by shutting down Arch Manning on just 41 second-half passing yards. They forged a 24-24 tie but saw the quarterback notch his second rushing touchdown of the game for the eventual winning score.
The loss cut deeper, though, after Ole Miss coach Pete Golding announced that running back Kewan Lacy would miss the Auburn game due to a dislocated shoulder he suffered vs. Texas.
Lacy, who in 2025 was one of the nation’s top running backs (1,567 yards) and a 24-touchdown producer, entered the Texas game with a different shoulder injury.
“Kewan dislocated a shoulder in the game, so it wasn’t exactly what it was before,” Golding said. “It was different. So with the combination of both of those, he’s not going to play this week.”
The Rebels will rely on a combination of Makhi Frazier (51 carries, 301 yards) and Shekai Mills-Knight (four carries, 42 yards, TD), among others.
“I think Makhi has come in and played well,” Golding said. “I think with Kewan being out this week that Shekai is going to have a real opportunity as well.”
For the fourth straight outing, the Tigers (4-3, 2-3) will meet a ranked opponent after facing Tennessee, Georgia and LSU.
Then-No. 18 LSU did a number on Auburn last Saturday, holding a three-touchdown lead by halftime and coasting to a 38-17 victory that never was in doubt.
It was a far cry from Auburn’s stunning 27-24 road upset of then-No. 1 Georgia the previous weekend, knocking the Bulldogs from college football’s top ranking and earning the biggest win for coach Alex Golesh in his inaugural season at the school.
“It’s a chance for us to move, (but) that’s this league,” Golesh said. “Every week is a challenge, and it’s why you come here. To play the best of the best. We flipped the page and play another really good team on the road.”
Stopping Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, an early Heisman Trophy hopeful who has thrown for 1,926 yards this season, will be a priority.
“Obviously, (he) is as special a player as there is,” Golesh said. “You kind of watch it from afar, and you turn the film on and that’s a dynamic, special, special football player.
“He creates with his feet, and the arm strength is real. The accuracy is real. The ability to extend plays and push the ball down the field is real.”