No. 7 Auburn on the alert against Mississippi

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Posted 5:16PM on Friday, October 27, 2006

JACKSON, Miss. - The script sounds awfully familiar. Auburn's feeling good. Everyone's healthy, happy and the team is cruising right along. On the schedule is a lightly regarded team in this case Mississippi that the No. 7 Tigers should play around with a little before going for the kill. If that reminds Auburn fans of the preamble to the Arkansas game, which the Tigers lost, they'd be right. The only difference as the team prepares to play the Rebels on Saturday in Oxford is the Tigers say they're not about to get caught twice in one season especially by a Southeastern Conference opponent. ``It's not hard this week,'' Auburn defensive end Quentin Groves said. ``We realize that we've got a lot riding on it. This is the SEC. If you don't come to play in the SEC, like we saw against Arkansas, then you get your tail handed to you.'' The Tigers (7-1, 4-1 SEC) have much to lose against the Rebels (2-6, 1-4). They are currently fifth in the Bowl Championship Series standings, just a few upsets away from being back in the national championship chase. And another loss in the SEC would destroy any hope the team has of catching Arkansas for the conference's Western Division title and a chance for a league championship. ``They haven't won as many games as they had hoped, but they have steadily improved,'' Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville said of the Rebels. ``They have gotten better. They are running the ball much better and their offensive line is really getting good. ``It's been kind of interesting to watch how they have progressed each game as we have watched them as a football team and as a coaching staff. They are doing a good job and we are going to be in for a challenge this week.'' Tuberville should know. Not only is he a former Ole Miss coach, but he has spent time working with Rebels coach Ed Orgeron, offensive coordinator Dan Werner and offensive line coach Art Kehoe. The Rebels, 5-14 under Orgeron, have improved this season, though their record is still far from par. They feature the SEC's leading tackler (Patrick Willis), the league's No. 2 running back (BenJarvus Green-Ellis) and a nationally ranked recruiting class that has been thrown into action, ready or not. The team hit a bump this week when starting linebacker Garry Pack was dismissed and four others were suspended indefinitely for violation of unspecified team rules. Orgeron said the team responded well after the news was announced. Tuberville expected as much. ``You can tell their players are responding to the coaches they have there,'' he said. ``They are a well-coached team. They have a lot of younger guys, but they have improved and gotten better.'' If the Rebels have any chance of upsetting the Tigers, those young players will have to respond. True freshman Jonathan Cornell could replace Pack in the lineup, joining 26 freshmen and sophomores on the team's 44-man two-deep roster. Orgeron has played 17 true freshmen this year and hasn't been shy about putting them in difficult situations. And rather than cringing at the prospect of playing ranked teams back to back the Rebels lost by 35 points to No. 13 Arkansas last week Orgeron embraces what he has called a ``little run'' of difficult conference foes, starting with Georgia a month ago. ``I like playing teams back to back,'' Orgeron said. ``I like playing big teams. We knew coming into the SEC, especially the West, that we were going to have to perform very well obviously. For three games I thought our team performed pretty good.'' Ole Miss pressed Georgia into the fourth quarter, beat Vanderbilt and took Alabama to overtime before falling flat against the Razorbacks. That's reason for hope, but the Tigers are a creature of a different stripe. Auburn has won 20 of its last 22 SEC games, including knocking off No. 2 Florida earlier this year. The defense is sixth in the nation in scoring defense (12.2 points per game) and has held 25 of 33 opponents to 20 points or less since the start of the 2004 season. The Tigers feature the SEC's top running back (Kenny Irons). And quarterback Brandon Cox hasn't thrown an interception in 102 passes. But Orgeron remains confident his team is improving. And he believes that improvement gives the Rebels a chance. ``We're feeling we really can compete with the best in the SEC and we're up for the challenge,'' he said.