Posted: 2:24 PM Oct 12, 2012 Reporter: Associated Press
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) -- Mississippi and Auburn are both winless this season in the Southeastern Conference. Yet there's an unmistakable feeling that one program is finally clawing its way toward respectability while the other is sliding further into the league's bottom tier. The Rebels (3-3, 0-2 SEC) are the ones with optimism. They'll host Auburn (1-4, 0-3) on Saturday afternoon in a game that could provide a much-needed confidence boost to the winner heading into the second half of the season. Ole Miss is coming off a 30-27 loss to Texas A&M last week that was equal parts encouraging and demoralizing. It was the program's 16th straight SEC loss. The Rebels will get another chance against Auburn, which is coming off a 24-7 loss to Arkansas.