It’s hard to fault A.J. Brown for his momentary outburst on Saturday afternoon. The star Ole Miss wideout had just toasted an Auburn DB on a slant route at the goal line, putting himself in position for an easy touchdown catch that would have cut the Tigers lead to five points midway through the third quarter. Instead, Rebels quarterback Jordan Ta’amu elected the run portion of the run-pass option, handing to halfback Scottie Phillips for no gain.
Ta’amu was sacked the next play and Ole Miss settled for a field goal. Auburn scored two touchdowns in its next seven offensive plays to put the game away.