ESPN College Football

OXFORD, Miss. -- Gene Chizik said his Auburn football team isn’t into making statements.

Maybe not.

But the No. 1 Tigers are into winning football games and doing it any way they see fit.

“One night, somebody else steps up to the plate, and that’s what is special about this team,” Auburn freshman running back Mike Dyer said. “Everybody on this team has something to give.”

Dyer’s offering was a career-high, 180-yard rushing night in Auburn’s 51-31 battering of Ole Miss on Saturday at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

He was one of many in the giving mood on an Auburn team that isn’t showing any signs of slowing down in the race for college football's top prize.

The Tigers (9-0, 6-0) were playing their first game ever as the No. 1 team in the BCS standings -- and they haven’t been No. 1 in either one of the polls since 1985 when Bo Jackson was a senior. They looked like old pros Saturday at shouldering the burden of having the country's aim on their back.

“We don’t play perfect all the time,” Chizik said. “Sometimes it isn’t as good-looking or as pretty as we’d like it to be, but the results are the same.”

And in this one, there was more than just the Cam Newton Show. A lot more.

Onterio McCalebb had a 68-yard touchdown run, his second long touchdown run in as many weeks. He scorched against LSU on a 70-yarder that was the difference in that game.

Demond Washington raced 95 yards for a touchdown on a kickoff return after Ole Miss had pulled within 24-17 in the second quarter.

Dyer’s 180 rushing yards included a 30-yard touchdown romp.

The passing game produced 229 yards and three touchdown passes, and Newton had a relatively light day at the office when it came to running the ball.

But he did have a touchdown catch, a 20-yarder from Kodi Burns that the Tigers had been working on and saving for just the right time.

“Coach challenged me, that he was going to call it this week because of what we’d seen throughout the week on the film,” said Newton, who was held to 45 rushing yards on 11 carries. “It was the perfect time to call it, and it worked.”

The Rebels were determined not to let Newton beat them running the football. They closed up the middle and rarely tried to bring any pressure.

Auburn’s answer was to torch them on the perimeter and turn Newton loose in the passing game. He finished 18-of-24 for 209 yards and two touchdowns.

“That just goes to show you what we’re capable of doing with our receivers,” Newton said. “We have an excellent passing attack that’s capable of striking at any time. A lot of people haven’t really seen that because we haven’t brought that rabbit out of our hat yet.”

Still, the Tigers rushed for 343 yards. That’s after rushing for 440 yards last week against an LSU defense that came into the game ranked sixth nationally against the run.

Auburn also showed a few new wrinkles, including the trick play Newton scored on. He may not be a receiver by trade, but he looked awfully comfortable going up and getting the football.

“Our trick plays are our normal plays,” Chizik said. “That’s part of what we do. Some people will call them tricks or what not. Within our offense, we do a lot of things that are staples in our offense. That’s what we do. That’s what we practice. You’ll see them again.”

In five games this season, Auburn has surpassed 500 yards in total offense. The Tigers finished with 572 yards on Saturday, the most they’ve gained this season against an SEC defense.

“So many people come to mind when you talk about Auburn’s offense, not just me,” Newton said. “Of course, I don’t want to have all the attention on me. That just makes my job harder.

“Those other guys came out, and any time they had an opportunity to make a play, they did.”

It’s been that way all season, the Auburn way.

Auburn running back Mike Dyer talks about his career day in the win over Ole Miss.

OXFORD, Miss. -- Forget about an upset.

Even though the start was a little shaky, No. 1 Auburn kicked its offensive machine into overdrive and romped past Ole Miss 51-31 on Saturday at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

The 51 points were the most Auburn has ever scored against Ole Miss.

The Tigers (9-0, 6-0) put an end to the hex that had gripped the nation's No. 1 team the past few weeks. Teams ranked No. 1 (either in the polls or the BCS standings) had lost each of the past three weeks.

The only question with the Tigers in this one was how many times they would punt. Their first punt didn't come until there was just under three minutes to play in the third quarter, and that ended up being their only punt of the night.

Auburn quarterback Cameron Newton was held to 45 rushing yards, but was 18-of-24 passing for 209 yards and two touchdowns. He also caught a 20-yard touchdown pass from Kodi Burns for the Tigers' first score.

Auburn freshman running back Michael Dyer had a season-high 180 rushing yards on 21 carries.

The Tigers will step outside the SEC next week and face Chattanooga. Then comes Georgia at home followed by a bye week and then the trip to Alabama on Nov. 26.

OXFORD, Miss. -- With Ole Miss on its way to a fifth loss Saturday, a bowl game this season is anything but a given for the Rebels.

They have Louisiana-Lafayette next week, so that's a fourth win (yes, I realize they lost to Jacksonville State earlier this season).

That leaves three games -- on the road at Tennessee, on the road at LSU and home against Mississippi State.

The Rebels would need to win two of those last three to qualify for their third straight bowl game.

OXFORD, Miss. -- No. 1 Auburn used a wave of big plays to build a 34-17 lead over Ole Miss at the half.

Here's a quick halftime analysis:

Turning point: Ole Miss had pulled within 24-17 in the final minutes of the first half, and Auburn's Demond Washington returned the ensuing kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown.

Stat of the half: The two teams combined for four touchdowns and six plays of 20 yards or longer before 10 minutes had gone by in the first quarter.

Player of the half: Auburn quarterback Cam Newton didn't do much damage running the football in the first half, but he was 15-of-21 passing for 188 yards and a touchdown. He also caught a 20-yard touchdown pass for the Tigers' first score.

Second guessing: Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt decided to go for it on fourth-and-1 from the Rebels' own 41, but Jeremiah Masoli was stuffed for no gain. Auburn took advantage of the short field and was able to tack on another field goal in the final seconds of the half.

OXFORD, Miss. -- Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn is always setting something up on down the road with misdirection, fakes, movement.

The Tigers' 12-play, 98-yard touchdown drive was a mixture of a little bit of everything and capped by Cam Newton's 24-yard touchdown pass to Darvin Adams.

The thing that's so difficult about defending Auburn's offense is that you're never completely sure who has the ball, and Newton sells his fakes extremely well.

OXFORD, Miss. -- This is as close as it gets to PlayStation III football in the SEC.

Auburn and Ole Miss hadn't quite played 10 minutes Saturday in the first quarter, and the two teams had combined for four touchdowns and six plays for 20 yards or longer.

Ole Miss hasn't been able to stop Auburn, but Auburn hasn't been able to stop Ole Miss, either.

The Rebels' Markeith Summers made a spectacular 29-yard touchdown catch to tie the game when he laid out for the ball in the end zone.

But the more you watch Auburn play defense (and, yes, the Tigers make a ton of plays when they need to in the second half ), the more you wonder how much longer they will be able to survive when they're giving up this many yards.

OXFORD, Miss. -- We knew Cam Newton could run, and we knew he could pass.

Now, we know he can catch, too.

Newton's 20-yard touchdown catch in the back corner of the end zone answered the 83-yard touchdown run by Ole Miss' Jeff Scott to open the game.

Kodi Burns threw the pass, and Newton went up and got the football like he'd been doing it his whole life. That's the way he does everything on the football field.

One other thing: Heisman voters have historically loved players who do a lot of different things well.

What can Newton not do?

OXFORD, Miss. -- Ole Miss broke out the gray jerseys Saturday against No. 1 Auburn.

The Rebels warmed up in red jerseys, but a big clue that they planned to come out in a different color for the game was that Auburn was allowed to wear its home blue jerseys.

So, Ole Miss is in all gray for Saturday's game -- gray jerseys, gray pants and its usual blue helmets.

OXFORD, Miss. -- Not only is this the ninth straight week that Auburn has played without a break, but the Tigers also roll into Vaught-Hemingway Stadium with the added burden of carrying the No. 1 ranking in the BCS standings.

Throw in the Houston Nutt factor, and this one could get really interesting.

Nutt has a long history of pulling big upsets when his club is a decided underdog.

The most recent one that comes to mind is Ole Miss' 31-30 win over No. 4-ranked Florida in 2008. Nutt's Rebels were a 22-point underdog that day at the Swamp.

He also had several when he was the head coach at Arkansas.

In his final game at Arkansas to end the 2007 regular season, the Hogs upset then No. 1-ranked LSU 50-48 in triple-overtime at Tiger Stadium. Arkansas was a two-touchdown underdog that day.

Another one that stands out was the win over No. 2-ranked Auburn on the road in 2006 when Arkansas was a 15-point underdog.

One of the other neat subplots Saturday is Ole Miss quarterback Jeremiah Masoli getting a chance to help his former Oregon teammates. If the Rebels can knock off the Tigers, that opens the door for the Ducks to go to No. 1 in the BCS standings.