AUBURN 17, MISSISSIPPI 0
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) - Ben Leard threw for 195 yards and a
touchdown, winning a battle of sophomore quarterbacks in their
first Southeastern Conference starts, as Auburn defeated
Mississippi 17-0 Saturday.
Auburn (1-1) jumped to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter as Leard
hit Karsten Bailey for a 28-yard touchdown and set up the other
with a 32-yard pass to the Ole Miss 1.
Even though Auburn didn't get into the end zone again, Leard was
steady. He finished 16-of-27 with no interceptions.
Auburn, rebounding from a season-opening 19-0 home loss to No. 12
Virginia, beat Ole Miss for the sixth straight year in an SEC
opener. The Tigers' next two games are against No. 7 LSU and No.
8 Tennessee.
On the other side, Romaro Miller struggled a week after having
the best passing performance by a first-time Ole Miss starter --
26-of-40 for 332 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions vs.
Memphis.
Against an Auburn defense often putting at least eight men on the
line of scrimmage, Miller hit just 11-of-35 passes for 104 yards
and two interceptions. Both of the interceptions led to Auburn
scores.
On Auburn's second possession of the game, Leard converted a
fourth-and-1 near midfield with a 2-yard sneak. Two plays later,
Bailey made the catch over Timothy Strickland -- who was turned
around and never saw the ball coming -- then bulled through the
defender the final 5 yards to the end zone.
Ole Miss got the ball back for just one play, but Miller's
underthrown pass was intercepted by Rob Pate to set Auburn up at
the Ole Miss 44.
Again the Tigers converted a fourth-and-1 -- when fullback Heath
Evans powered for two yards -- and Leard followed with a 32-yard
completion to Jack Schweiger to the 1.
Evans then plunged in from a yard out to put Auburn ahead 14-0
with 5:19 left in the first quarter.
At halftime, Ole Miss had just two first downs -- one while
running out the clock in the final minute -- and 45 yards total
offense. The Rebels finished with just seven first downs and 136
total yards. Auburn had 301 total yards.
On a fourth-and-10 late in the third quarter, Miller was
intercepted by Larry Casher, who returned the pick 37 yards to
the Tigers 46. Twelve plays later, early in the fourth quarter,
Robert Bironas kicked a 26-yard field goal.
Auburn 17, MISSISSIPPI 0
1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH FINAL
--- --- --- --- -----
Auburn 14 0 0 3 17
Mississippi 0 0 0 0 0
First Quarter
Aub-Bailey 28 pass from Leard (Bironas kick), 8:35
Aub-Evans 1 run (Bironas kick), 5:19
Fourth Quarter
Aub-FG Bironas 26, 11:43
AUB MIS
--- ---
First downs 15 7
Rushes-yards 39-106 22-39
Passing 195 104
Comp-Att-Int 16-27-0 11-35-2
Return Yards 52 26
Punts-Avg. 8-39.1 8-41.5
Fumbles-Lost 2-1 0-0
Penalties-Yards 6-49 5-39
Time of Possession 35:58 24:02
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING-Auburn, Burks 22-61, Evans 6-28, Nelsen 3-14, Embry 1-2,
Leard 4-1, Carter 2-1, Pennington 1-(minus 1). Mississippi,
McAllister 12-26, Cannion 4-12, Miller 3-(minus 3), Morris
1-(minus 3).
PASSING-Auburn, Leard 16-27-0-195. Mississippi, Miller
11-35-2-104.
RECEIVING-Auburn, Bailey 4-67, Lowe 3-22, Schwieger 2-40, Evans
2-38, Robinson 2-16, Cooper 1-10, Williams 1-3, Burks 1-(minus
1). Mississippi, French 4-43, Heard 3-37, Lucas 1-7, Bettis 1-7,
Gunn 1-7, McAllister 1-3.
A-48,371.