http://www.theplainsman.com/sports/2008/oct-30/auburn_riding_3_game_losing_streak_oxford
When Auburn (4-4, 2-3 SEC) travels to Ole Miss (4-4, 2-3 SEC) Saturday, history between the two football teams will be on the line.
The Tigers lead the series 24-8-0 over the Rebels, winning 13 of the last 15 and have not lost in Oxford since 1992.
Ole Miss, while presently unranked, has already matched its highest win total (four) achieved in three seasons under former head coach Ed Orgeron.
The Rebels’ new head coach, former Arkansas head coach Houston Nutt, has brought his newly renamed “Wild Rebel” formation and offensive play calling to Ole Miss. It has arguably paid off.
While the Rebels have lost four games, all four losses have been within seven points, and three of the losses were against top 25 teams.
A sign of improvement for the Ole Miss program was the 31-30 upset of the top-ranked Florida Gators in Gainesville.
Offensively, the Rebels are led by sophomore quarterback Jevan Snead, a highly-recruited signal caller out of high school who transferred to Ole Miss from the University of Texas.
Snead has completed 54.2 percent of his passes on the year for 12 touchdowns, 11 interceptions and an average of 209.1 passing yards per game, giving the Rebels a formidable passing attack.
With the hiring of Houston Nutt came the addition of the Wild Rebel, a popular direct snap to a halfback formation which Nutt used to exploit defenses with running backs Darren McFadden and Felix Jones.
Wide receiver Dexter McCluster is typically the player called to run the Wild Rebel, although he has yet to complete a pass from the formation on the season and has thrown two interceptions.
The Plainsman
10/30/08
Magnolia Tribune
