Auburn @ Ole Miss preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 5, 2013 ) Mississippi 22, Auburn 30

Coming off its third 40-point effort in the last four games, No. 4 Auburn will face a stiff challenge Saturday when it visits ninth-ranked Mississippi in an SEC West showdown. The SEC is loaded with intriguing matchups on a weekly basis, but this contest is particularly attractive since Ole Miss is trying to bounce back from its first loss while Auburn is hoping to avoid losing at both Mississippi schools. The Tigers were defeated at current No. 1 Mississippi State 38-23 two games ago before bouncing back with a 42-35 triumph against South Carolina.

"(Improving on a weekly basis) has been the plan all year from day one," said Auburn coach Gus Malzahn. "We are going to need to have that happen because we are playing the meat of our schedule with three top-10 teams on the road. I don't know another team in the country that is doing that." The other game that Malzahn is referring to is next month's contest at No. 8 Georgia, but first the Tigers must find a way to score against the nation's top defense. The Rebels are giving up just 10.5 points per game and basically fell right on that number in last week's 10-7 defeat at 17th-ranked LSU.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, ESPN. LINE: Mississippi -2

ABOUT AUBURN (6-1, 3-1 SEC): The Tigers landed at No. 3 in the inaugural College Football Playoff rankings - one spot ahead of the Rebels - but whichever team loses Saturday almost certainly will fall out of the playoff picture. Auburn ran for a season-high 395 yards last week against South Carolina with Cameron Artis-Payne totaling 167 yards and a touchdown and quarterback Nick Marshall adding 89 and three scores. Another key weapon for Auburn is Quan Bray, who leads the nation in punt return average (25.2) and has a pair of punt return TDs in 2014.

ABOUT MISSISSIPPI (7-1, 4-1): Ole Miss has outscored opponents 62-3 in the first quarter this season, including 7-0 against LSU last weekend, but the Rebels could not dent the scoreboard over the final three quarters, losing on an interception by Bo Wallace near the goal line with two seconds left. "This league is brutal," said Rebels coach Hugh Freeze, whose team has thrived off turnovers this season, leading the nation with 90 points off miscues. Wallace, who had thrown 126 consecutive passes without a pick before the final play against LSU, is the SEC's active career leader in passing touchdowns (58), total touchdowns (74), passing yards (8,415) and total yards (9,322).

EXTRA POINTS

1. The Tigers have the longest home winning streak in the nation (14 games) and are 13-0 at home since Malzahn took over prior to last season.

2. Auburn is one of four FBS teams that has scored at least 20 points in every game since the beginning of the 2013 season.

3. The Tigers lead the all-time series 28-10, including a 9-3 record in Oxford.

PREDICTION: Auburn 27, Mississippi 23