AUBURN, Ala. - It only took Auburn two plays and 12 seconds to grab the momentum, then No. 24 Mississippi snatched it back with a couple of huge runs.
The Tigers weathered that wild third-quarter swing and rode a resurgent offense to a 33-20 win over the Rebels on Saturday, ending a three-game losing streak and adding to a disappointing season for Ole Miss.
"I went through every emotion, high and low, you can go through in 15 minutes," Auburn coach Gene Chizik said of the 36-point third. "It seemed like 15 days. It was pretty incredible."
Chris Todd passed for 212 yards, Ben Tate ran for 144 yards and Walt McFadden returned an interception for a touchdown to help spark that 23-point third-quarter surge for Auburn (6-3, 3-3 SEC).
The Tigers' defense turned away Jevan Snead and the Rebels (5-3, 2-3) seven times on drives to midfield or beyond.
Once ranked No. 4, Ole Miss had appeared to get back on track with two straight wins but couldn't overcome a frenzied third-quarter flurry that led to a 24-point hole. The Rebels stormed back with Jesse Grandy's 82-yard kick return and a 79-yard run by Dexter McCluster but couldn't keep it up.
"I'm extremely disappointed, especially after the way we've been playing," said Snead, who was picked off twice by McFadden. "We really stopped ourselves a lot of the time. We would get something going and we would stall."
McFadden stopped the Rebels' final chance by stepping in front of Snead's pass near the Auburn goal line in the final minutes. He also had a 29-yard return for a score.
Auburn got its offense going after dropping three straight games and raising fears of another late-season collapse. The Tigers dropped six of their last seven in 2008.
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