Simulating Auburn's 2020 season: Ole Miss

Day 91 without sports.

I rummaged up a copy of NCAA Football 14 for the Xbox 360, downloaded 2020 rosters for every team, set up the schedule, and simulated Auburn's entire 2020 football season — because, at this point, why not?

Video-game depictions of sporting events have become common during the pandemic, and fans seem to eat it up. Look at Barstool Sports' NCAA 14 series, for example, which netted more than 125,000 viewers during a national championship earlier this month.

But our usage of the game will differ slightly. Here are the ground rules, for those who missed the first installment. In short, I don't touch the controller; I let the CPU simulate the game how it will.

Onto the games.

• Instead of a fast start like last week, Auburn's offense struggles out of the gate, going three-and-out on its first possession.

• Ole Miss, on the other hand, moves all the way into the red zone thanks to a blend of rushing and passing from quarterback John Rhys Plumlee. Auburn corner Roger McCreary gets five tackles on Ole Miss' opening drive, including a big stop of Plumlee in the open field to force a field goal. 3-0 Ole Miss.

• More of the same: Auburn does nothing; Ole Miss marches into the red zone. McCreary makes another good play to stop a touchdown, and the Rebels again kick it. 6-0 Ole Miss.

• Auburn's offense has just one first down through its first three drives. Bo Nix is 2-for-9 passing, and the Tigers have 2 rushing yards.

• Back and forth punts as the defenses stand strong. Ole Miss is nearing 150 yards of offense, while Auburn has 19 midway through the quarter.

• The Rebels add another field goal at the end of a drive in AU territory, as Chandler Wooten makes an excellent open-field tackle (the verbatim description of the play from the game's announcers). 9-0 Ole Miss.

• Red-zone stop after red-zone stop after red-zone stop. Auburn's defense is bending but not breaking. However, the lead is piling on, and the Tigers' offense continues to stall. 12-0 Ole Miss. Rebels have four red-zone trips and four field goals to show for it.

• Auburn puts together its best drive of the half — a four-play series that ends with an Anders Carlson field goal from 44 yards. 12-3 Ole Miss.

• Auburn walk-on punter Patrick Markwalter pins Ole Miss inside its own 10-yard line after the Tigers cross midfield for the second consecutive drive.

• Ole Miss goes three-and-out, and the Rebels boot a subpar punt that gives Auburn the ball at the Rebels' 46. Nix slices and dices the secondary for a short touchdown drive that ends in a slant-pattern score to Seth Williams. 12-10 Ole Miss.

• The teams trade field goals to lead into the fourth quarter. 15-13 Ole Miss

• Both teams string together some first downs but no substantial possessions through the first few minutes of the final quarter.

• The Rebels go nearly the length of the field and get into the red zone for the fifth time — only to settle for 3 points for the fifth time. 18-13 Ole Miss.

• With two minutes left, Auburn orchestrates a four-play drive — a 16-yard scramble by Nix, a 27-yard run by Shaun Shivers, a 23-yard screen pass to Shivers, and an 8-yard touchdown run by Shivers. 19-18 Auburn.

• In a five-receiver set, Nix rolls to his right and finds freshman wideout Kobe Hudson in the back of the end zone for a toe-tapping, 2-point conversion. 21-18 Auburn.

• Auburn's defense stays hot when it matters, forcing Ole Miss into a four-and-out, giving the offense a chance to ice the game.

• And the Tigers do just that, as Shivers runs out on the clock on a second-half, comeback victory in their SEC opener.

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TOTAL YARDS

Auburn: 344

Ole Miss: 330

PASSING YARDS

Auburn: 174

Ole Miss: 200

RUSHING YARDS

Auburn: 170

Ole Miss: 130

THIRD DOWNS

Auburn: 4-of-13

Ole Miss: 6-of-17

TURNOVERS

Auburn: 0

Ole Miss: 0

PASSING

B. Nix (AU): 18-for-28, 174 yards, TD

J. Plumlee (MISS): 22-for-30, 200 yards

RUSHING

S. Shivers (AU): 10 carries, 67 yards

B. Nix (AU): 13 carries, 60 yards

D. Williams (AU): 7 carries, 25 yards

T. Bigsby (AU): 4 carries, 13 yards

M. Richards (AU): 1 carry, 5 yards

J. Plumlee (MISS): 21 carries, 52 yards

I. Woullard (MISS): 6 carries, 25 yards

J. Ealy (MISS): 5 carries, 22 yards

H. Parrish (MISS): 5 carries, 20 yards

E. Moore (MISS): 2 carries, 6 yards

S. Conner (MISS): 2 carries, 5 yards

RECEIVING

S. Williams (AU): 9 receptions, 91 yards, TD

S. Shivers (AU): 3 receptions, 38 yards

A. Schwartz (AU): 2 receptions, 22 yards

J. Shenker (AU): 1 reception, 8 yards

S. Jackson (AU): 1 reception, 6 yards

D. Williams (AU): 1 reception, 6 yards

E. Stove (AU): 1 reception, 3 yards

E. Moore (MISS): 12 receptions, 141 yards

J. Mingo (MISS): 5 receptions, 58 yards

K. Yeboah (MISS): 1 reception, 8 yards

J. Ealy (MISS): 2 receptions, 0 yards

S. Conner (MISS): 2 receptions, -7 yards

DEFENSIVE LEADERS (AU)

R. McCreary (AU): 12 tackles, 2 PBUs

S. Monday (AU): 7 tackles, sack

C. Wooten (AU): 7 tackles

D. Hall (AU): 6 tackles, 2 TFLs, sack

K. Britt (AU): 6 tackles, 2 TFLs, sack

C. Tutt (AU): 5 tackles, PBU, sack

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EAST

1. Missouri (3-0, 2-0 SEC)

2. Florida (3-0, 1-0 SEC)

3. Georgia (2-1, 0-1 SEC)

4. South Carolina (2-1, 0-1 SEC)

5. Kentucky (2-1, 0-1 SEC)

6. Vanderbilt (1-2, 0-1 SEC)

7. Tennessee (2-1)

WEST

1. Alabama (3-0, 1-0 SEC)

2. Auburn (3-0, 1-0 SEC)

3. Mississippi State (3-0, 1-0 SEC)

4. Ole Miss (1-2, 0-1 SEC)

5. Arkansas (1-2, 0-1 SEC)

6. Texas A&M (3-0)

7. LSU (2-1)