| Auburn (3-3, 1-2 SEC) vs. #9 Ole Miss (6-0, 2-0 SEC) Saturday, Oct. 15, 2022 • 11 a.m. CT • Oxford, Miss. Vaught-Hemingway Stadium Military Appreciation 
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• This is the 47th meeting all-time between Ole Miss and Auburn dating back to 1928.
• The Tigers lead the all-time series 35-10 and are 13-2 in Oxford ... Original record is 35-11 in favor of Auburn, but Ole Miss' win in 2012 was vacated due to NCAA ruling.
• The Rebels are ranked No. 9 in both the AP Poll and the AFCA Coaches Poll.
• 1962 was the last time Ole Miss started 6-0 and didn't have to vacate any of its wins.
• Ole Miss will honor those who serve and have served in military service Saturday with its annual Military Appreciation game.
• The Rebels have forced a turnover in 26 of the 29 games during the Lane Kiffin era.
• Ole Miss ranks first in the SEC and No. 6 nationally converting on third downs 53.2 percent of the time.
• 56 of the 125 players (45 percent) on the Rebel roster are newcomers and are in their first season at Ole Miss.
• The Rebels are second in the FBS allowing just 0.33 sacks per game.
• The Rebels are tied with No. 1 Georgia for the FBS lead in total rushing touchdowns (21), and rank within the FBS top 20 in total rushing yards (1,452), yards per game (242.0), total attempts (261) and yards per rush (5.56).
• WR Jonathan Mingo leads the SEC in receiving yards (507) and yards per reception (23.05), which is second nationally.
• RB Quinshon Judkins leads all freshman nationally with eight total touchdowns on the season.
• QB Jaxson Dart leads the SEC and ranks fifth in the FBS in yards per completion (14.9).
• K Jonathan Cruz is 6-of-8 in his collegiate career on field goals from 50 yards or more.
• DT KD Hill was awarded the Chucky Mullins Courage Award and will wear No. 38 throughout the 2022 season.
OLE MISS HEAD COACH LANE KIFFIN
Lane Kiffin (Fresno State, 1998) is in his third season at Ole Miss and helped lead the Rebels to back-to-back bowl appearances in his first two years in Oxford. Kiffin guided the Rebels to a 10-3 record in 2021, the first 10-win regular season in school history. That included a perfect 7-0 mark at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, part of an ongoing 13-game home win streak for Kiffin's teams. The Rebels finished the season ranked No. 11 in both the AP and AFCA Coaches Poll; its highest final ranking since 2016. Ole Miss ranked top-20 in the FBS in nine different offensive categories in his first season, including having the No. 3 team in the country in total offense, shattering the school record with 555.5 yards per game. Kiffin is in his 11th year at the NCAA level and has posted an all-time record of 76-42. In December 2016, Kiffin took over an FAU program that had won a total of nine combined games over the previous three seasons. Kiffin proceeded to take the Owls to new heights over the last three years, including two conference titles and two 10-win seasons. In his head coaching stops at USC, Tennessee and FAU, Kiffin has shown a propensity in helping turn programs around. Kiffin graduated from Fresno State in 1998 after playing quarterback for three seasons (1994-96) for the Bulldogs. He began his coaching career as a student assistant at Fresno State under Pat Hill in 1997 and 1998.
AUBURN HEAD COACH BRYAN HARSIN
Bryan Harsin enters his second season at the helm of the Auburn football program, coaching the Tigers to a 9-10 record in his time as the team's head coach. Prior to his arrival in Auburn, Harsin served seven seasons as the head coach of Boise State, leading the Broncos to a 69-19 record under his guidance while clinching bowl game appearances six times. In his nine total seasons as a head coach in college football, Harsin has led his teams to eight bowl game appearances, with the COVID-shortened 2020 season marking his only season that didn't result in his team becoming bowl eligible. A former quarterback at Boise State from 1995-1999, Harsin brings the nation's No. 32 passing defense (196.0) into Oxford looking for the Tigers' first ranked win of the season.
TIGERS SCOUTING REPORT
Auburn travels to Oxford holding a 3-3 record in 2022, with the team coming off of a 42-10 loss in Athens to the No. 2 ranked Georgia Bulldogs. The Tiger offense is led by redshirt-freshman quarterback Robby Ashford, who has now made three consecutive starts for the Tigers. Ashford brings dual-threat capabilities to the Auburn backfield, so far throwing for 874 yards and four touchdowns in 2022 along with running for 274 yards and one score on the ground. The Tigers will also lean on leading rusher Tank Bigsby, who has so far logged 345 yards rushing and four touchdowns on the year. Defensively, the Tigers are led by senior edge rusher Derick Hall with the Gulfport, Mississippi, native currently leading the team in TFLS (7) and sacks (4) while tallying 30 total tackles this year. Additionally, Hall has logged the team's lone interception of 2022. Senior linebacker Owen Pappoe leads the Tigers in tackles this season with 42 after having to battle an ankle injury in 2021 that kept him out of eight of the team's 13 contests a year ago.
AUBURN SERIES HISTORY
• Ole Miss and Auburn will be meeting for the 47th time in a series that started in 1928.
• Auburn leads the all-time series vs. Ole Miss 35-10.
• The original record is 35-11 in favor of Auburn, with Ole Miss' win in 2012 vacated due to NCAA ruling.
• Auburn leads 13-2 in Oxford, 13-3 in games played on the field ... Ole Miss' win in 2012 was vacated by NCAA ruling.
OLE MISS TO HONOR VETERANS WITH MILITARY APPRECIATION GAME
Ole Miss will honor the men and women who served and have served this great nation in military service Saturday with its annual Military Appreciation Game. The university's mission to honor and support its student veterans does not go unnoticed by its military faculty and staff. Notable alumni and service members will be recognized during the game and halftime will feature a special tribute to our nation's military by The Pride of the South marching band.
JUST KEEP RUNNING
Ole Miss' powerful rushing attack ranks among the best in the nation near the halfway mark of the 2022 campaign. The Rebels are tied with No. 1 Georgia for the FBS lead in total rushing touchdowns (21), and rank within the FBS top-20 in total rushing yards (4th, 1,452), yards per game (7th, 242.0), total attempts (10th, 261) and yards per rush (12th, 5.56).
HISTORIC START
The Rebels are off to a 6-0 start to the 2022 campaign, marking just the seventh 6-0 start overall (and sixth statistically when factoring NCAA vacated wins) in the 128-year history of Ole Miss football. In the record books, this stands as the best start by a Rebel team since the national champion 1962 squad finished with a perfect 10-0 record. The 2014 Ole Miss team started 7-0 and finished 9-4 overall, but its wins were later vacated by NCAA ruling.
HOME SWEET HOME
Dating back to Nov. 14, 2020, the Rebels have won 13 straight home contests, sixth amongst Power 5 schools. It marks the longest winning streak in Oxford since winning 21 straight games from Nov. 1, 1952 to Nov. 7, 1959. Including a tie to LSU in 1960, the Rebels went unbeaten for 34 games over the course of 12 years (1952-64). The Rebels have outscored their opponents 519-281 during the 13-game win streak, an average win of 40-22. Ole Miss finished the 2021 campaign with a perfect 7-0 home record, its first undefeated season at home (on the field) since 1992 when the Rebels finished 6-0 at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Last year was also the first time that Ole Miss has won seven on-campus games within the same season.
BINGO FOR MINGO!
Senior wide receiver Jonathan Mingo lit up the stat sheet in spectacular fashion at Vanderbilt last Saturday, as he became Ole Miss' top single-game receiver in program history following a 247-yard performance on nine catches and two scores against the Commodores. Mingo broke Elijah Moore's 2020 single-game record of 238 on his still-standing record 14 catches at Vanderbilt as well on Oct. 31, 2020. Mingo is the third Ole Miss receiver to record 230 yards and two touchdowns receiving in a single game, joining Moore (238 yards, 3 TD vs. Vanderbilt, 2020) and A.J. Brown (233 yards, 2 TD vs. South Alabama, 2017). Mingo's high-octane outing also ranks 13th in SEC history for single-game receiving yards and is the 11th-best ever against another SEC school.
BY LAND OR BY AIR
The Rebels have held a fearsome rushing offense throughout the 2022 campaign, but a bombastic aerial showing against Vanderbilt put Ole Miss right into the discussion nationally as a feared passing attack as well. Ole Miss is currently the only school in the FBS with a single-game 440-yard passer (Jaxson Dart, vs. Vanderbilt, 448 yards), a 240-yard receiver (Jonathan Mingo, 247 yards, vs. Vanderbilt) and a 140-yard rusher (Quinshon Judkins, vs. Tulsa, 140 yards). Ole Miss is also currently one of just five FBS schools to have a 500-yard rusher (Judkins, 581 yards, No. 15 FBS) and a 500-yard receiver (Mingo, 507 yards, No. 25 FBS), alongside Cincinnati, Coastal Carolina, Kent State and Nebraska.
MINGO ON THE NATIONAL LEADERBOARD
Jonathan Mingo's performance not only ranks tops in the Ole Miss record books, but also at the top of the FBS leaderboard heading into Week 7 action. Mingo's 247-yard day topped the previous best of 246 set by Kent State's Dante Cephas against Ohio on Oct. 1. Mingo's game against the Commodores ranks 58 yards better than the next-best performance by an SEC receiver this season (South Carolina's Antwane Wells Jr., 189 yards, vs. Arkansas) and 34 yards better than any receiver against a Power-5 defense (Northwestern's Evan Hull, 213 yards, vs. Duke). Mingo is one of just seven FBS receivers to cross the 200-yard plateau this season.
SCORE FROM FAR
The Vanderbilt game turned into a launching pad for the Ole Miss offensive trio of QB Jaxson Dart, WR Jonathan Mingo and WR Jordan Watkins, with the Rebels exploding for four of their seven plays this season of 40 yards or longer -- including their three longest plays of the year all beyond the 60-yard distance with touchdown lobs of 72 yards (Mingo), 71 yards (Mingo) and 61 yards (Watkins).
BIG PLAYS VS. VANDY
It also turned out to be a historic game in terms of longevity, as it stands as the first in Ole Miss football records (since at least 1933) that a Rebel offense has thrown three or more 60-yard touchdown passes in the same game. Additionally, Saturday's game at Vanderbilt marks the first time the Rebels have notched three or more 60-yard touchdowns overall in a game since doing so against South Alabama in 2017 (97-yard kickoff return, Jaylon Jones; 77-yard reception, A.J. Brown; 71-yard reception, A.J. Brown), as well as the first time an Ole Miss offense has scored three or more 60-yard touchdowns since 2014 against Presbyterian when the Rebels notched four total.
BIG LEG JON
K Jonathan Cruz is 6-of-8 in his collegiate career on field goals from 50 yards or more, including a 53-yard FG vs. No. 7 Kentucky. Cruz's kick tied for the sixth longest kick in school history and the longest since 2012 (Bryson Rose vs Arkansas). A transfer from Charlotte, Cruz holds the 49ers' school record with five field goals made 50-plus yards, including a program-best two 56-yard field goals. He also has had 22 of his 38 kickoffs in 2022 go for touchbacks.
DEEP THREAT
WR Jonathan Mingo has been particularly dangerous from far away, recording eight receptions of at least 25 yards, seven of at least 30, four of at least 40, three of at least 50 and two beyond 70 yards. Mingo has set his career-long reception three times this season, starting with a 51-yard strike against Central Arkansas and his two 70-yard touchdowns against Vanderbilt of 72 and 71 yards. Those two receptions are the longest passing plays by Ole Miss since the 2020 season, which featured a 91-yard TD reception by Elijah Moore vs. South Carolina and an 81-yard TD catch by Braylon Sanders vs. Mississippi State. In his career, Mingo owns 16 receptions of at least 30 yards, six of at least 40, four of at least 50 and two beyond 70 yards. From 30 yards or further in his career, Mingo has hauled in five total touchdowns, including four beyond 40 yards and three from at least 50 yards out.
THROWIN' DARTS
Sophomore QB Jaxson Dart racked up some big numbers against the Vanderbilt defense on Oct. 8, ending the day with an Ole Miss high clip of 25-of-32 for an overall career-high 448 yards along with three touchdown passes. Dart's yardage is the most by a Rebel QB since Matt Corral set the single-game record with 513 against South Carolina in 2020, and it put Dart into a tie for fifth in Ole Miss single-game history with Jordan Ta'amu's 448-yard outing against Southern Illinois in 2018. Dart currently ranks No. 8 on the single-game FBS list for 2022, No. 5 among Power-5 QBs.
FRESHMAN SENSATION
True freshman Quinshon Judkins has made an immediate impact for an Ole Miss offense that ranks second in the SEC and No. 7 nationally in rushing yards per game (242.0 ypg). Judkins ranks top 20 nationally in rushing yards (581), rushing yards per game (107.0) and rushing TDs (8), and he leads all FBS freshmen in rushing yards and touchdowns. Judkins' 38 missed tackles forced ranks fifth in FBS, according to Pro Football Focus. Judkins' eight rushing touchdowns lead the SEC and rank No. 7 in the FBS this year, and are the most in a season by any SEC freshman since 2019. They are also the most rushing touchdowns by a Rebel freshman in an entire season since John Rhys Plumlee scored 12 times in 2019. Additionally, Judkins' eight scores are also the most by an Ole Miss freshman through six games in available game-by-game records since at least 1976. He has scored a TD in five of his first six collegiate games, including seven in his last four games, his last four in a row, as well as three games with two scores. Only seven Ole Miss players since 1979 have either more yards or more touchdowns than Judkins through six games played.
100-YARD BACKS
The Ole Miss rushing attack continues to be the strong suit of a Rebel squad that has started the season 6-0. The Rebels have had at least one 100-yard rusher in five of six games, including five straight for the first time since 1999. Quinshon Judkins leads the Rebels with three 100-yard rushing performances, while Zach Evans has two.
ONE-TWO PUNCH
Freshman Quinshon Judkins and TCU transfer Zach Evans have combined for a lethal one-two punch for Ole Miss' rushing attack. Judkins has carried the ball 96 times for 581 yards and eight TDs. Evans has registered 79 carries for 469 yards and six touchdowns. Judkins' 96.8 rushing yards per carry leads all freshman backs and ranks No. 19 in the FBS. The Rebels are one of just four teams (Duke, Georgia, Kansas & Ole Miss) to have three players with four or more rushing TDs.
REBS IN THE POLLS
• Ole Miss ranks No. 9 in both the Associated Press Poll and the Coaches Poll for the second straight week.
• Dating back to last season, Ole Miss has been ranked in the top 25 for 23 straight weeks, which is its longest streak since being ranked for 41 straight weeks that stretched from 2014-16.
• The previous stay inside the top 10 came when Ole Miss was ranked No. 8 headed into the 2022 Sugar Bowl.
• The SEC boasts six teams in the top 25, including four teams ranked inside the top 10.
THE PRINCE OF SWAT
Ole Miss senior cornerback Deantre Prince batted away four passes aimed his direction against Vanderbilt last week, which ties for the third-most in the FBS and leads the SEC for single-game pass breakups this season. Those four PBUs stand as the most by a Rebel defender since Keidron Smith notched four against South Carolina in 2020. Prince also had a season-high six total tackles against the Commodores.
FIRST HALF EFFICIENCY
Ole Miss is averaging 490.3 yards per game, but the Rebels are doing a majority of their work in the first half. Lane Kiffin and the Rebel offense averages 283.2 yards in the first half, including surpassing the 300-yard mark in the first half in two of its last four contests. The Rebels are outscoring their opponents 144-52 in the first half this season. Ole Miss has averaged 155.8 yards rushing through the first 30 minutes of their games this season.
COLEMAN GETTING IN THE BACKFIELD
Despite missing the two games due to injury this season, TCU transfer Khari Coleman has registered 6.5 tackles for loss this season. With his 5.0 TFL in the season opener vs. Troy, Coleman became just the third Rebel since 1999 to tally five or more tackles for loss in a single game. Mark Robinson registered 5.0 TFL last season and Kendrick Clancy had 6.0 in 1999. Coleman earned Freshman All-America accolades in 2020 after a stellar freshman campaign for the Horned Frogs. Coleman ranked second in the Big 12 and seventh nationally with 15.0 tackles for loss as a true freshman on his way to being named the Big 12 Co-Defensive Freshman of the Year. The 10.0 tackles for loss were the most by any SEC team in their season opener and are the most in an Ole Miss opening game since 2014.
SACK YOU VERY MUCH
Ole Miss ranks fourth in the SEC and No. 24 in the FBS with 2.7 sacks per game. LB Khari Coleman and DE Jared Ivey are tied for the team lead with 2.5 sacks on the season. 10 different Rebels have at least one or more sacks for Ole Miss this year, the fourth-most amongst FBS schools. Ole Miss has recorded at least three sacks in four of six games played this season.
GETTING STINGY WITH IT
Through the first six games of 2022, the Rebels are 11th nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 14.5 points per game. Ole Miss has held nine of its last 11 opponents to 21 or fewer points. Prior to giving up 27 points in Week 4 vs. Tulsa, the Rebels only allowed 13 total points in the first three games of the season. It was the fewest given up by a Rebel squad through the first three games of the year since 1963. Ole Miss also opened the '63 season allowing just 13 points in the season's first three contests. That 1963 team went on to finish the season 7-1-2 and were crowned SEC Champions.
THE PORTAL KING
Looking to replace 33 letterwinners, including 14 total starters, Lane Kiffin and the Rebels turned to the transfer portal to help strengthen its roster for 2022. The Rebels brought in a total of 28 transfers, including 24 portal transfers that ranked No. 2 according to 247Sports. USC transfer QB Jaxson Dart was rated the No. 3 overall transfer and started three games in 2021 for the Trojans. RB Zach Evans was also ranked in the top 10 in 247Sports' transfer rankings. Evans was ranked as the No. 2 running back and No. 8 overall player in the transfer portal. TE Michael Trigg was the third Rebel to be ranked as a top 20 transfer, rated as the No. 1 tight end and No. 19 overall player. 56 of the 125 players (45 percent) on the Rebel roster are newcomers and are in their first season at Ole Miss.
KD HILL RECEIVES CHUCKY MULLINS COURAGE AWARD, WILL WEAR NO. 38
Ole Miss DT KD Hill was recently named the winner of the 2022 Chucky Mullins Courage Award. The award, sponsored by Phi Beta Sigma fraternity, honors the late Chucky Mullins, who had his Ole Miss career come to an end during the 1989 Homecoming game against Vanderbilt when he was paralyzed after making a tackle. After returning to his studies at Ole Miss, Mullins passed away May 6, 1991. A native of Eufaula, Alabama, Hill becomes the 32nd recipient in the 33-year history of the award. Hill will wear Mullins' No. 38 number throughout the 2022 season. Hill has appeared in 40 career games for the Rebels, including 22 career starts at nose tackle.
