Auburn's defense, beaten by LSU's scrambles, now has to keep Ole Miss's Trinidad Chambliss in the pocket

Auburn heads to Oxford on Saturday with a defense that has not solved its biggest problem: quarterbacks who get out of the pocket. Defensive coordinator DJ Durkin said this week that his pass rush has to do a better job keeping quarterbacks inside. Next up is Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, who may be the hardest one in the SEC to keep in place.

Roundtable Sports reported that LSU's Sam Leavitt kept getting outside the pocket and extending drives in the 38-17 loss on the Plains. Durkin tied many of Auburn's third-down failures directly to those scrambles. Even when Auburn kept Leavitt short of the sticks, his runs sometimes turned third-and-long into a manageable fourth down. LSU finished with 552 total yards, 387 of them through the air. Vanderbilt freshman Jared Curtis caused similar trouble earlier this season, though Auburn won that game 21-15. Durkin's message for Saturday was blunt: "Whoever our rushers are, they got to cage them in the pocket."

Head coach Alex Golesh praised Chambliss during his Monday press conference, AL.com reported. He pointed to the quarterback's arm strength, his accuracy and his knack for extending plays and still throwing downfield. Chambliss ran for more than 500 yards last season. His rushing numbers are down this fall, but the real danger is that he keeps looking to throw after a play breaks down, which can turn a good rush into a long completion. Ole Miss will be without running back Kewan Lacy, whose absence head coach Pete Golding confirmed, according to Athlon Sports. That could put even more of the offense in Chambliss's hands.

What it means for Saturday in Oxford

Auburn is 4-3 and has gone back and forth since late September: a loss to Florida, a win over Vanderbilt, a loss at Tennessee, a 27-24 upset at then-No. 1 Georgia, and then the lopsided LSU loss. The Georgia game shows this team can win on the road against a ranked opponent. The LSU game shows how quickly that falls apart when the defense can't get off the field.

No. 12 Ole Miss is 5-2 and coming off a 34-27 loss at Texas. Before that, the Rebels beat Missouri 31-3 and Vanderbilt 52-17. They have scored 41 or more points in three of their five wins. LSU beat Auburn by 21 after losing 32-24 at Ole Miss, a comparison that does not help Auburn.

The board for this game has Ole Miss clearly favored across 11 venues. On Novig, the Rebels are -456 on the moneyline and Auburn is +426. Novig has Ole Miss favored by 12.5 at -111. Elsewhere the spread runs from Hard Rock Bet's 11.5 at -120, the shortest number for Ole Miss backers, to Fanatics' 13.5 at -110, the most points available on Auburn. That is a two-point spread across the market, which is a wide range for a conference game this late in the week. Novig lists Auburn +12.5 at +104. The total sits at 57.5 on Novig, while FanDuel has the lowest over at 56.5 (-114). Sportsbook hold on the spread ranges from 3.8 to 6.7 percent.

Kickoff is 12:45 p.m. ET on SEC Network. Whether Auburn stays within that range will depend largely on whether its edge rushers keep Chambliss inside the pocket. They failed to do that against Leavitt.