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Published Monday, November 02, 2009 in Sports

Auburn big win likely secures bowl spot

By JOHN ZENOR

AP Sports Writer

AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — Auburn defensive end Antonio Coleman doesn’t know where he’ll spend the holidays, but he has a pretty good idea where he won’t be: At home, watching other teams play in bowl games.

The Tigers finally got back on track in Saturday’s 33-20 win over Mississippi, snapping a three-game skid and becoming bowl eligible in the process.

“It didn’t feel good last year sitting at home and watching all those other teams play,” Coleman said. “Just like coach (Tracy) Rocker said, ’We’ve got Christmas plans.’ That’s a blessing.”

It wasn’t the only blessing coach Gene Chizik and the Tigers (6-3, 3-3 Southeastern Conference) counted after that game.

The beleaguered defense came up with big stops and stopped the Rebels (5-3, 2-3) seven times on trips at least to midfield. The struggling offense produced 401 yards and some renewed balance, and quarterback Chris Todd answered his critics with a solid game.

And the Tigers showed the resilience to bounce back from losses to LSU, Kentucky and Arkansas.

“That was the question everybody wanted to know: ’How was your football team going to respond in a tough time?”’ Chizik said. “They willed that win. That was a very, very good football team that we beat and our kids deserved it because they never quit fighting. It doesn’t surprise anybody in our locker room that that’s who they are. I thought (the performance) proved to a lot of people that we were going to contend and fight.”

The Rebels, meanwhile, were expected to challenge for an SEC title. Now, their main goal is the same as Auburn’s was: Secure win No. 6 and bowl eligibility. The No. 4 ranking and lofty ambitions are distant memories.

Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt vowed there won’t be a long wait. His team faces Northern Arizona next Saturday.

“We are going to win next week and then come back for a three-game (SEC) stretch,” Nutt said. “We still have a chance to go to a bowl game and they know that. They got a taste of that last year and they know what that feels like.”

Auburn got a reminder of what winning tastes like after the deterioration of a season that began 5-0.

Ole Miss came in at No. 24, giving Auburn its first win over a ranked opponent since beating Clemson 23-20 in the 2007 Chick-fil-A Bowl.

The Tigers are one of only five SEC teams already bowl eligible, and the SEC has agreements to send at least nine league teams to a postseason game. That leaves Auburn in good shape.

The Tigers produced big scoring plays, ranging from Ben Tate’s 53-yard touchdown run to Darvin Adams’ 28-yard scoring catch and Walt McFadden’s 29-yard interception return during a pivotal third-quarter sequence.

Auburn’s offense had four plays of 20-plus yards, totaling 164 yards. The Tigers managed just 193 total yards against LSU.

Bowl eligibility wasn’t a huge concern for the Tigers, who figure to be heavy favorites against Furman before closing with Georgia and No. 3 Alabama. But their odds of finishing with a winning record, instead of 6-6, are much greater.

“This win just turns the season back around,” center Ryan Pugh said. “We’ve got a chance to go 7-3 next week. Everyone is upbeat again. You’re excited to win. It’s no fun to lose.”

Todd had a lot more fun, too, passing for 212 yards a week after LSU held him to 47.

Chizik had faced questions about possibly making a quarterback change two weeks in a row, but stuck by the senior. Tight end Tommy Trott expects Todd to get a reprieve from the critics.

“I hope they’ve gone off and hidden,” Trott said. “He had a great game. He was really airing it out. He threw some great balls and the wind was swirling out there too even throughout the game. Chris was able to battle the wind and made some throws with some people in his face. He really stepped up and was real important in this turnaround game we had.”

Besides the big plays, another good sign for the offense was the Tigers had 226 yards passing and 175 rushing after being mostly one-dimensional during the losing skid.

“When we’ve got that type of balance, we feel unstoppable,” guard Mike Berry said.

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