AUBURN, Ala. – Bo Nix accounted for three touchdowns, Tank Bigsby rushed for 140 yards and No. 18 Auburn kept No. 10 Ole Miss out of the end zone in the second half in the No. 18 Tigers' 31-20 win Saturday at sold-out Jordan-Hare Stadium.
"That's a great win," Auburn coach Bryan Harsin said. "Really proud of our players and proud of our staff. It was a great atmosphere tonight, electric out there. We definitely fed off of that."
Jaylin Simpson's end zone interception in the fourth quarter preserved Auburn's two-score lead and the Tigers stopped the Rebels three times on fourth down inside Auburn's 20-yard line in the second half.
"Matt Corral rolled out of the pocket and I plastered with the nearest guy to me. He threw across his body and I capitalized on it," said Simpson of his first career interception. "Once I saw the ball I just played my keys and did my job, and the ball hit me right in the face."
The Tigers' defense held Ole Miss (6-2, 3-2) to a 49-yard field goal in the third quarter, forcing two three-and-outs. Zakoby McClain led the way with 14 tackles and two sacks.
"I told my team I refuse to lose," McClain said. "I just want to win. I'm going to do whatever it takes to win. I want all of them to follow me and feed off me."
In SEC West wins over LSU, Arkansas and Ole Miss, the Tigers have outscored opponents 27-0 in the fourth quarter.
"A little bit of conditioning. A lot of effort and focus in the fourth quarter," Harsin said. "I think it's important to us. That's something our players have emphasized."
Anders Carlson's 28-yard field goal gave Auburn a 31-20 lead with 10:52 remaining in the fourth quarter to culminate an 11-play, 76-yard drive that included a 24-yard Bigsby run and a 24-yard pass from Nix to Kobe Hudson.
Gallery: (10-30-2021) Auburn 31, Ole Miss 20
Auburn scored touchdowns on four of its five first-half drives to take a 28-17 halftime lead.
The Tigers drove 82 yards in 11 plays on their opening possession with Nix rushing for an 11-yard touchdown. Nix was 3-for-3 on the drive for 33 yards while rushing for 18 yards, including another of his patented, sack-avoiding scrambles.
Picking up where he left off in Auburn's win at Arkansas, Marcus Harris set the tone defensively with a tackle for loss on the Rebels' first play, one of seven TFLs for the Tigers' defense.
After Ole Miss kicked a 29-yard field goal on its first drive, Auburn answered with a 10-play, 72-yard touchdown drive.
Bigsby began the drive with a 26-yard run, then went airborne on third-and-goal from the 1 to put Auburn ahead 14-3 late in the first quarter.
"I came into the game knowing we were going to run the ball," said Bigsby, who averaged 6.1 yards per rush on 23 carries. "I tried to do whatever it took to get in."
In the second quarter, Ole Miss drove 88 yards in 15 plays, cutting Auburn's lead to 14-10 on Snoop Conner's 13-yard touchdown run.
Auburn answered quickly, gaining 35 yards on Nix's pass to Demetris Robertson and scoring on Nix's 7-yard touchdown run to lead 21-10 with 6:20 left in the half.
𝑫𝒆𝒋𝒂 𝑽𝒖 💨#WarEagle | @BoNix10 pic.twitter.com/0CxeWiJCu9
— Auburn Football (@AuburnFootball) October 31, 2021
Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral led the Rebels on a 75-yard drive, scoring on an 11-yard touchdown run to trim Auburn's advantage to 21-17 with 2:42 remaining in the second quarter.
The Tigers executed their two-minute offense to perfection, driving 69 yards in 11 plays and scoring on Nix's 9-yard pass to Jarquez Hunter with 11 seconds left in the half.
Nix completed 22 of 30 passes for 276 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 30 yards and a pair of TDs.
"We came out and ran the ball well," said Nix. "We're doing a good job of being dynamic and doing different things on third down which is helping us stay on the field."
With its SEC Western Division aspirations still intact, Auburn (6-2, 3-1) plays next Saturday at Texas A&M at 2:30 p.m. CT on CBS and the Auburn Sports Network.
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer