Rebels aiming to end pair of droughts at Auburn

AUBURN, ALABAMA - If there&#39;s two things that bug Mississippi fans, they are a chronic inability to beat Auburn or win the SEC West.<br> <br> The 20th-ranked Rebels take aim at both sources of embarrassment on Saturday in a game that could all but knock the Tigers out of contention for the Southeastern Conference title.<br> <br> Ole Miss (7-2, 5-0), picked to finish fifth in the West, has ridden a five-game win streak directly to the top of the division. The only West team without a division title has a shot at starting 6-0 in the league for the first time since 1962.<br> <br> A win over preseason league favorite Auburn (6-3, 4-1) and No. 4 LSU in two weeks would take care of all that.<br> <br> ``I don&#39;t know if it&#39;s added pressure to be in the race,&#39;&#39; Ole Miss coach David Cutcliffe said. ``That&#39;s the most important thing, to be in the race.<br> <br> ``It&#39;s all right there in front of us. It&#39;s what you dream of as a player, the chance to compete for championships in November.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> The Rebels have lost three straight meetings and 18 of 20 dating back to the 1971 Gator Bowl. They are eight-point underdogs despite the perfect league mark.<br> <br> History might have something to do with that skepticism from the oddsmakers.<br> <br> Ole Miss has been the West&#39;s middle-of-the-pack team, never finishing worse than fourth and only once, in 1992, winding up as high as second.<br> <br> Rebel fans can&#39;t even take too much joy at the recent struggles of their in-state rival because Mississippi State, at least, played in the league championship game in 1998.<br> <br> If the Rebels have been the SEC&#39;s surprise team, the Tigers are threatening to be its biggest flop. They&#39;ve got to win their final three games at No. 9 Georgia and against Alabama to win the league, and even then need LSU to lose again.<br> <br> ``Our backs are to the wall,&#39;&#39; Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville said.<br> <br> He&#39;s a former Ole Miss coach, but that story line has been buried this week with the game&#39;s stakes and Cutcliffe&#39;s current success.<br> <br> ``I don&#39;t think there is a big deal with Tuberville,&#39;&#39; Rebels quarterback Eli Manning said. ``We know it is a big game and we need to beat them because we have not done that in awhile.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> It&#39;s not the only thing Ole Miss hasn&#39;t done in awhile. They haven&#39;t won six straight games since a seven-game streak in 1990. Tuberville has been impressed by the resilience of his former team.<br> <br> ``They scratched and crawled their way back,&#39;&#39; he said. ``You can tell their enthusiasm they&#39;ve played with the entire year.<br> <br> ``They&#39;ve played really good football the last six or seven weeks.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Auburn, meanwhile, has struggled in the spotlight with flameouts against No. 2 Southern California and No. 4 LSU.<br> <br> The Tigers&#39; 14-year SEC title drought isn&#39;t nearly so long as the one at Ole Miss, but this was supposed to be their year.<br> <br> This isn&#39;t the typical Ole Miss team, the one that has produced a feeble 133 yards rushing in the past two meetings and given up 404.<br> <br> Not even Manning has been able to reverse the Rebels&#39; fortunes versus Auburn. Last year, he threw three second-half interceptions, including one to Travaris Robinson in the end zone with 1:32 left.<br> <br> Manning admitted after the game he should have run for the goal line instead.<br> <br> Cutcliffe doesn&#39;t want his team looking either back or ahead.<br> <br> ``You just enjoy the whole thing along the way,&#39;&#39; he said. ``It should increase focus along the way, and not be a distraction.&#39;&#39;

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