An ‘incredible night’ at Auburn can’t propel Tigers to ranked win

The stars weren’t necessarily aligned, but the Ole Miss game still felt like a decent spot for Auburn to shake off some of its problems this season and play — and possibly win — a big game at home.

After all, the last time these Tigers took the field in Jordan-Hare Stadium, No. 1 Georgia needed a late score to win. Auburn was one of the only teams in college football to play three of its first four Power Five games on the road, and its performance in a near-upset against the Bulldogs was by far the most complete of the bunch.

A charged-up environment, with the backdrop of Auburn’s fancy new stadium light show, and a crowd hungry for a win with their team’s back against the wall, in a sense, felt like an ideal setting for the Tigers to work their way off the schneid.

Some classic Jordan-Hare magic would have been timely for this team. Saturday night provided no such luck.

Auburn hit a brick wall on offense in the second quarter and failed to take advantage of an inspired defensive performance, as the Tigers’ home roar transitioned to groans in the second half of No. 13 Ole Miss’ 28-21 win.

“What a great crowd we had,” Hugh Freeze said. “It was an incredible night, and really felt like we would be in this game for the entirety. And it’s just we couldn’t and we had our chances.”

Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin cited plenty of stats this week about the advantages Jordan-Hare Stadium provides, and had to look no further than when the Tigers nearly toppled the two-time defending national champions a few weeks ago.

No amount of pyrotechnics could generate any fireworks for Auburn’s offense, though, which had just five first downs entering the fourth quarter.

Auburn players after the game were quick to express their gratitude for how the crowd remained active and loud — though the fans clad in orange and blue were given plenty of reasons to be frustrated down the stretch.

“They really bought the energy today,” linebacker Larry Nixon III said. “I felt it. I’m really disappointed that we couldn’t get a win for them, though.”

As Auburn racked up stop after stop on defense — the scoreboard knotted at 14-14 for nearly 27 minutes of game time — the Tigers’ own offense had no answers. They had two interceptions and six punts after tying the game in the second quarter, before Payton Thorne led a quick drive down the field to cut the lead to one score late in the fourth quarter.

Auburn players certainly weren’t happy to send a packed house home without a win again.

“We’re going to do our best to come out here with a win and make them happy next time,” tight end Rivaldo Fairweather said.

What was once a feared home-field advantage hasn’t been able to offset the program’s recent woes. Auburn has lost nine of its last 12 games against Power Five opponents on Pat Dye Field.