Ole Miss Things and Other Auburn Connections

Auburn and Ole Miss have played 48 times in collegiate football. Auburn has won 35 of them. Ole Miss has won 12 of them. You may notice that 35 and 12 don’t add up to 48. That’s because Ole Miss was cheating in 2012 and had to vacate the win. But really… 12 wins in a series that goes back 98 years? This new little transfer portal era boom with the Rebels is new and won’t last. But it’s been two seasons since the Tigers have taken on Ole Miss, so let’s learn about them again.

🦈 Ole Miss Things

🚗 1. The Archie Manning Speed Limit. Most of the Ole Miss campus has an 18 mph speed limit to honor Archie Manning’s jersey number. Apparently, even traffic laws in Oxford have to revolve around a Manning.

🦈 2. Mascot Identity Crisis. Ole Miss went from Colonel Reb to a black bear to Tony the Landshark. They’re still the Rebels, but their mascot is now a shark that walks on land. In Mississippi.

🎨 3. Borrowed School Colors. Ole Miss chose Harvard’s crimson and Yale’s blue back in 1893 because they thought the combination looked good. Nothing screams Mississippi quite like pretending to be two Ivy League schools.

📖 4. Named After a Yearbook. “Ole Miss” was originally the name of the school’s yearbook, chosen through a contest in 1896. The nickname eventually became the university’s identity. So their entire brand basically came from naming a scrapbook.

📣 5. Hotty Toddy Makes No Sense. Their most famous cheer includes phrases like “flim flam” and “bim bam,” and nobody knows for sure where it originated. The earliest documented version dates to 1926. A century of yelling words that don’t mean anything. But we do also have Bodda Getta…

🐅 Auburn Connections

🔄 1. The Coaching Carousel. Tommy Tuberville was Ole Miss’ head coach from 1995–98 before leaving for Auburn, where he coached from 1999–2008. Hugh Freeze coached Ole Miss from 2012–16 before becoming Auburn’s head coach in 2023. DJ Durkin was Ole Miss’ co-defensive coordinator in 2020–21 before taking the same job at Auburn in 2024. Oxford has been a pretty good place to shop for Auburn coaches.

💔 2. The 2014 Heartbreaker. No. 3 Auburn beat No. 4 Ole Miss 35–31 in Oxford when Kris Frost forced a fumble from Laquon Treadwell just before he crossed the goal line. Cassanova McKinzy recovered it in the end zone with 1:30 remaining, effectively ending Ole Miss’ national championship hopes.

🏈 3. Cam Newton Catches a Touchdown. In 2010, Auburn beat Ole Miss 51–31 in Oxford, and Cam Newton did a little bit of everything. He threw two touchdowns and caught a 20-yard touchdown pass from Kodi Burns. Yes, Auburn’s quarterback was also catching touchdowns.

🏆 4. The 2004 SEC West Championship. Auburn clinched the SEC West in Oxford in 2004 with a 35–14 victory, the earliest SEC division clinching in history. Jason Campbell rushed for two touchdowns and threw another, while Ronnie Brown and Cadillac Williams combined for 196 rushing yards. The Tigers improved to 9–0 on their way to an undefeated season.

⭐ 5. Sullivan vs. Manning. Auburn and Ole Miss met in the 1971 Gator Bowl, featuring Pat Sullivan against Archie Manning. Sullivan threw for 351 yards as Auburn won 35–28. Both quarterbacks were named game MVPs, but only one got to celebrate a win.