OXFORD, Miss. -- Auburn and Mississippi spent the week dismissing their standing in the first College Football Playoff rankings as mostly irrelevant.
One of them will no longer enjoy the relative comfort of a win-and-in mind-set after this weekend, because No. 3 Auburn (6-1, 3-1 SEC) and No. 4 Ole Miss (7-1, 4-1) meet tonight in what could amount to the first elimination round of the playoffs.
It won't likely be the last in the competitive SEC Western Division.
"We're focused solely really on one ranking, and that would be on Dec. 7," said Ole Miss Coach Hugh Freeze, referring to the final rankings that set up the four-team field. "That's the one that really matters."
This game matters to both teams, because the loser is out of the first college playoff barring help from multiple upsets.
Like Freeze, Auburn Coach Gus Malzahn didn't want to talk in such big-picture terms either.
"I'm viewing this Saturday as this is the biggest game on the schedule," Malzahn said. "We've got to go there, we've got to play well to win, and that's the only thing on our mind. I'm not looking ahead, this or that. We're going to Ole Miss. We're trying to win a game."
The Rebels are coming off their first loss, 10-7 to No. 19 LSU, but they still sport the nation's top scoring defense.
Ole Miss was pounded for 264 rushing yards against LSU. The defenders are more in their comfort zone going against an offense that can so closely resemble their own.
"I think that our defense is probably more designed for the Auburn offense," cornerback Senquez Golson said. "It's more familiar with us, especially running against our offense all the time. More comfortable for us, definitely."
It's a huge challenge facing any team going against Ole Miss. The Rebels lead the nation with 17 interceptions, including eight by Golson. They've scored four defensive touchdowns.
Rebels quarterback Bo Wallace had one of his worst games of the season in the loss to LSU, including an interception in the final seconds. He was 14 of 33 passing for 176 yards but expressed hope for a less conservative game plan this week that leads to fewer third-and-long situations.
The Rebels' Laquon Treadwell and the Tigers' D'haquille Williams are big, physical receivers and two of the SEC's best. Both also sport No. 1, and their on-the-field numbers are similar. Treadwell has 529 yards and 4 touchdowns while Williams has produced 527 yards and 5 touchdowns.
The Tigers are averaging 39.3 points a game and have the SEC's top running game, fueled by quarterback Nick Marshall and tailback Cameron Artis-Payne.
Marshall has thrown only three interceptions, but the offense opened its last road game with turnovers on its first two plays against No. 1 Mississippi State. The Tigers defense has 13 interceptions.
This will be the biggest test both units have faced.
The two former Arkansas State coaches typically employ a no-huddle offense, although Freeze has pulled back the reins somewhat with his defense performing so well. The Tigers are more run-oriented than the Rebels, too. But some of the principles are the same, tailored to their respective strengths.
Malzahn said this is the best Ole Miss defense he has faced.
"Gus and I could be identical if we chose to within the game plan," Freeze said. "We can also look quite different probably. We're extremely similar in the run game. Pass game, probably more different than the run game.
"We could make them look very, very similar if we chose to."
Sports on 11/01/2014