AUBURN, Ala. — Clint Moseley, Mike Dyer and the Auburn Tigers rebounded nicely against less high-flying competition.
Moseley threw his first four career touchdown passes and Dyer (Little Rock Christian) rushed for 177 yards to lift the Tigers to a 41-23 victory over Mississippi on Saturday night, a bounce-back from last week’s 35-point humbling by No. 1 LSU.
“I’m really starting to settle into it,” Moseley said. “Last week, the whole situation was just really surreal for me. It never really hit me how big it was, because I think it was that big.
“This game was a completely different feel for me, personally. It really helps to be at home and have the support of the fans. It really feels a lot different this week.”
The Tigers (6-3, 4-2 SEC), No. 23 in the BCS rankings, scored a pair of touchdowns in the third quarter to break a halftime tie and go up 31-17 in a matchup of the league’s two bottom-dwelling defenses.
The Rebels (2-6, 0-5) have dropped 11 consecutive league games, adding to their longest string since joining the SEC in 1933. They had rallied to send it into halftime tied at 17-17.
Moseley completed 12 of 15 passes for 160 yards in his second career start after debuting in a 45-10 loss in Baton Rouge. The Tigers had managed just 10 passing touchdowns in the first eight games.
They got a boost from the return of leading receiver Emory Blake, who missed the past three games with an ankle injury. He had five catches for 71 yards and a 25-yard touchdown.
“You could see the impact that he has with our offense,” Auburn Coach Gene Chizik said. “You could see he’s still playing a little bit banged up. Clint did a great job of getting the ball where he needed to get it most of the time.”
Tight end Philip Lutzenkirchen caught two touchdown passes, including a one-handed grab late in the game.
Auburn has won nine of the past 11 meetings with the Rebels, who couldn’t follow up a strong performance in a 29-24 loss to No. 8 Arkansas.
The Tigers dominated the third quarter with a 141-22 advantage in total yards. The Rebels gained only 42 yards after halftime before two final drives deep into Auburn territory in the closing 5 minutes.
Ole Miss finished with Randall Mackey’s 10-yard touchdown pass to Nickolas Brassell on the final play.
Dyer, who had 27 carries, gained 115 yards in the second half after failing to reach 100 in the previous two games.
“I told him [Friday], ‘Your time’s going to come,’ ” Chizik said.
Moseley got the Tigers going with two first-quarter touchdown passes, including a 45-yarder to Quindarius Carr to make it 14-0. He sparked them again in the third after a Rebels comeback.
The sophomore hit an open Blake in the end zone for the touchdown on a third and-8 play midway through the quarter. Dyer set up his own 4-yard touchdown with a 48-yard run down the right sideline and added a field goal early in the fourth.
Lutzenkirchen, who came in tied for fifth nationally among current tight ends with 10 touchdown catches, had an early 13-yarder and then added a more highlight worthy 4-yarder. He almost nonchalantly reached his right hand back for the ball on his way to the end zone.
Mackey was 15 of 27 passing for 157 yards with 1 interception on a badly under thrown ball downfield. He picked up 64 of those yards on the final two drives.
“They were not going to let us go deep,” Ole Miss Coach Houston Nutt said. “They really made us throw underneath, and he was a little off tonight. He missed some guys that he would normally hit.”
Sports, Pages 39 on 10/30/2011