SEC game of the week number two: Ole Miss at Auburn

This game still holds interest for SEC West fans like myself. Its been a disappointing season for both teams.

Auburn has a surprisingly impressive start winning their first five games. My thoughts heading into the season were that Auburn's talent base started to erode when Alabama emerged from the shadow of their NCAA penalties which ravaged their program. Alabama started winning recruiting battles with Auburn even before Saban arrived.

Chizik seemed like a crazy hire to many Auburn fans and to me. He lacks any real pedigree in a conference with exceptional coaches. I think Tommy Tuberville is a better coach than Chizik. Time will tell. Three back to back to back losses have Auburn where I figured they would be in the West.

Ole Miss is coming off their most impressive win solidly beating a decent Arkansas team. Snead looked great in that game, in the other games not so much.

I picked Ole Miss to finish third in the West behind number one Alabama and number two LSU. If they beat LSU in Oxford, they might well finish second. It still has to be a disappointing season for Ole Miss fans. Their schedule set up nicely for them to win the West if they beat Bama, a game they played their worst football of the season.

The good news for Ole Miss fans is Nutt has their program at a point where many of their fans will be disappointed with a 10-2 season. Sounds like LSU fans to me.

The bad news is that while Ole Miss has a great chance to win the rest of their games, none of the SEC games are gimmes. LSU and Tennessee promise to be tough games. Even Mississippi State is showing they are no pushover.

This is also a game with some recruiting implications. Ole Miss and Auburn compete for a lot of the same kids. Auburn is in on a lot of top recruits, but may not get them if their losing streak continues.

I think Ole Miss wins this game. I think they have a better team and I think Auburn is starting to unravel a bit. Based on last weeks games this looks like two teams headed in different directions. You never know, Auburn did have a strong start to their season. Its a game I look forward to watching.