No. 19 Auburn Rolls Over Mississippi 27-3

AUBURN, Ala. (AP) -- Brandon Cox passed for 205 yards and a touchdown, and Kenny Irons ran for 101 yards and another TD to lead No. 19 Auburn to a 27-3 victory over Mississippi on Saturday.<br> <br> Auburn placekicker John Vaughn also hit a pair of field goals for the Tigers (6-2, 4-1 Southeastern Conference) after a nightmarish 1-for-6 performance in an overtime loss at LSU.<br> <br> The Rebels (3-5, 1-4) managed just 209 total yards - 23 on the ground - and Ethan Flatt replaced Micheal Spurlock at quarterback in the fourth quarter. They had allowed only one TD in each of the last three games, but couldn&#39;t keep up that string against the league&#39;s top scoring offense.<br> <br> Irons had 32 carries while Cox was 17-of-27 passing, including a 1-yard touchdown pass to a leaping Ben Obomanu on a fourth down play in the third quarter. <br> <br> Obomanu caught the ball near the exact spot where he dropped a wide-open pass in the end zone late in a 24-20 loss to the Rebels two years ago.<br> <br> The Tigers also scored on a trick play. Receiver Courtney Taylor took the ball on a reverse and heaved it to a wide-open Devin Aromashodu for a 28-yard touchdown early in the second quarter.<br> <br> Spurlock was 10-of-18 for 105 yards with an interception that set up another Auburn TD. Flatt twice led the Rebels into Auburn territory in the fourth quarter, going 11-of-17 for 81 yards.<br> <br> Tailback Mico McSwain gained only 48 yards on 18 rushes against the nation&#39;s fourth-ranked scoring defense.<br> <br> Both teams failed to convert on fourth-and-goal situations in the first half after having numerous kicking problems last week.<br> <br> The Rebels drove inside Auburn&#39;s 1-yard line on their opening drive. Then Brandon Jacobs couldn&#39;t handle the pitch from Spurlock on fourth down for a 12-yard loss.<br> <br> The Tigers then went for it on fourth-and-goal from the 3 on the following possession but Cox&#39;s pass fell incomplete under pressure to end a 16-play drive.<br> <br> Its no wonder both teams were wary of relying on their kicking games. Ole Miss had a pair of field goal attempts blocked and missed four against Kentucky last week.<br> <br> Vaughn rebounded to hit a 35-yarder and a 39-yarder in the final 3 minutes of the first half, the second set up by Steve Gandy&#39;s 29-yard return of a Spurlock interception.<br> <br> Matt Hinkle kicked a 43-yard field goal in the second quarter for the Rebels&#39; only points.<br> <br> That chance came after Ole Miss couldn&#39;t move the ball following Tre Smith&#39;s fumbled punt return at the 28.<br> <br> Auburn converted another fourth-down chance on its next drive to set up Taylor&#39;s touchdown pass.<br> <br> The Tigers were 2-of-4 on fourth-down tries and Ole Miss was 0-for-2.<br> <br> © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.