No. 19 Auburn Rolls Over Mississippi 27-3

Posted 4:44PM on Saturday 29th October 2005 ( 19 years ago )

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. 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. 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't keep up that string against the league's top scoring offense. 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. 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. 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. 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. Tailback Mico McSwain gained only 48 yards on 18 rushes against the nation's fourth-ranked scoring defense. Both teams failed to convert on fourth-and-goal situations in the first half after having numerous kicking problems last week. The Rebels drove inside Auburn's 1-yard line on their opening drive. Then Brandon Jacobs couldn't handle the pitch from Spurlock on fourth down for a 12-yard loss. The Tigers then went for it on fourth-and-goal from the 3 on the following possession but Cox's pass fell incomplete under pressure to end a 16-play drive. 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. 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's 29-yard return of a Spurlock interception. Matt Hinkle kicked a 43-yard field goal in the second quarter for the Rebels' only points. That chance came after Ole Miss couldn't move the ball following Tre Smith's fumbled punt return at the 28. Auburn converted another fourth-down chance on its next drive to set up Taylor's touchdown pass. The Tigers were 2-of-4 on fourth-down tries and Ole Miss was 0-for-2. © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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