AJ Finley, the Ole Miss defense and a 100-yard rushing performance ‘that shouldn’t have happened’
AJ Finely, for one, wasn’t surprised by anything Auburn threw at the Ole Miss defense on Saturday.
The Rebels came away with a 48-34 win, but not before a good scare from the SEC West rival Tigers, who Ole Miss hadn’t beaten in seven years. Auburn had won 13 of 15 games played in Oxford
The Tigers scored their most points against a Power 5 opponent since Mississippi State in 2021, led by star running back Tank Bigsby’s third straight game against Ole Miss with 100 or more rushing yards. He hadn’t had 50 rushing yards in any single game against a P5 team this year.
“That’s what they’ve done since I’ve been here,” Finley, a senior Ole Miss safety, said. “It’s always been the heavy run game. I kind of expected it.”
On the positive side, Ole Miss forced three turnovers, the second-most this season.
On the negative side, Auburn went for 301 on the ground and 441 yards in all. Bigsby and quarterback Robby Ashford scored two rushing touchdowns apiece, including a 50-yard burst from Bigsby to bring the Tigers within four (28-24) in the third quarter.
Auburn scored points on six of its last eight drives.
Fortunately for Finley and Co., however, Ole Miss, offensively, matched Auburn score for score. The Rebels came up empty in back-to-back drives to start the day, but they found their footing and scored on eight of 10 the rest of the way.
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They rushed for the fifth-most all-time yards in a single game in program history.
“He’s a really good back,” Finley said of Bigsby. “It’s tough. I feel like we kind of hurt ourselves with some fits and stuff. That 100-yard game shouldn’t have happened, honestly.”
But it did happen. Still, Ole Miss survived.
The Rebels are 7-0 (3-0 SEC) for just the second time in 60-plus years, and they next travel to LSU for a primetime kickoff (2:30 p.m. CT) in a week.
Ole Miss limited Auburn to 140 passing yards, the second-fewest by an opponent this season, and Finley tallied his team-best second interception. Ole Miss had two picks, the last of which sealed the win, when Deantre Prince stepped in front of an Ashford desperation attempt on fourth down and with a little over two minutes remaining in regulation.
“I saw the ball get tipped, and I didn’t know if I was close enough to actually dive and get it,” Finley said. “So, I was like, ‘Why not just try it?’ I dove out and just made the best effort I could.”
Here’s everything else Finley had to say in his postgame press conference.
