OM Football Clashes With AU

Way Too Early Game-by-Game Schedule and Predictions for 2013 . Part five A Glance at the Auburn Matchup.

Seph Anderson, Sportswriter to The South, focuses his sports writing and photography skills on covering timely Ole Miss and SEC news, among all things sports across the South.

seph.anderson@hottytoddy.com

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Photo by Robert Jordan/Ole Miss Communications

Taking the Hugh Freeze route to a head coaching gig in the SEC, Gus Malzahn takes over at Auburn following a one-year stint at Arkansas State.

In 2012, Auburn football suffered through arguably their worst year in history. The folks on the plains simply won’t put up with a winless SEC record.

Gene Chisik is out. Gus Malzahn is in.

Having been the Auburn offensive coordinator from 2009 to 2011, Malzahn rejoins a program he is quite familiar with in recent years. Considered one of the next up-and-coming coaches, Malzahn was the perfect hire by Auburn athletic director Jay Jacobs.

Last season, a 41-20 victory over the Tigers halted a 16-game SEC skid for the Ole Miss Rebels.

Granted the 2012 Tigers weren’t your usual Auburn Tigers. Hugh Freeze’s win in Oxford October 13, 2012 signaled a change in the direction of the Ole Miss program. Things suddenly didn’t look so dreary.

How much of a turnaround can Auburn fans expect in year one of the Malzahn era?

That’s an excellent question, and one we won’t know the answer to for a while.

The Rebels don’t historically play well on the plains, and if they’re not careful this one has upset all over it. Auburn will be coming off an open week before hosting Ole Miss, while Hugh Freeze’s club will be playing on the road for the second consecutive week following a trip to Tuscaloosa.

Good friends off the field, it will be strictly business for the two head coaches on October 5.

Success in the State of Alabama continues for a second week in a row.

Way Too Early Prediction:

Ole Miss 35, Auburn 23

Overall Record 4-1 (3-0 SEC)