Auburn's secondary gets picked apart by LSU, and DJ Durkin faces questions before Ole Miss

A week after winning at No. 1 Georgia, Auburn gave up 552 yards in a 38-17 home loss to LSU. Most of the damage came through the air, and the fallout has landed on defensive coordinator DJ Durkin's personnel choices as much as on the players who were beaten.

Sam Leavitt threw for 387 yards at Jordan-Hare Stadium, according to Roundtable Sports. Receiver Jackson Harris caught nine passes for 178 yards and two touchdowns. Cornerback Andre Jordan Jr. had been effective on the boundary against Georgia, but Roundtable's Christian Rauh reported that LSU completed all 10 passes thrown his way, for 114 yards. The biggest swing came after safety Eric Winters left with an injury. His replacement, AnQuon Fegans, missed his help assignment, and Harris got loose for a 70-yard touchdown.

Rauh's main complaint is that Auburn never adjusted. Gavin Jenkins, a defensive back Alex Golesh called an NFL-caliber corner this offseason, still is not getting snaps. The same players stayed on the field even after the game was out of reach. Rauh contrasted that with the offense, where running back Jeremiah Cobb was reportedly held out for three straight series after missing a blitz pickup. He noted there is a difference between blowing an assignment and losing to a good receiver. Still, he wrote that the defense's pattern of repeated coverage losses with no lineup changes is "certainly head scratching." Roundtable also said Auburn put little consistent pressure on Leavitt and missed tackles in space.

The numbers back that up. Auburn has allowed 24.1 points per game overall. In five SEC games the figure rises to 29.0, including 44 to Florida and now 38 to LSU. The offense has scored 21 points or fewer in five of seven games, so it has rarely been able to keep up when the defense struggles.

What it means at Ole Miss

Auburn (4-3) plays at No. 12 Ole Miss on Saturday, October 31, on SEC Network. The Rebels have already shown they can beat this LSU team, winning 32-24 at home in a game where LSU was ranked. LSU went on to put up 387 passing yards on Auburn. If Winters cannot play, or Durkin sticks with the same secondary, Auburn's back end faces another hard test right away.

Ole Miss is a clear favorite on the board. Novig has the Rebels favored by 12.5 points at -108 and at -456 on the moneyline. Novig lists Auburn at +413, and the best Auburn moneyline price among the 11 venues is +425 at theScore Bet. On the spread, DraftKings is a full point off Novig with Auburn +13.5 at -110, against +12.5 at -104 on Novig. Sportsbook hold on the spread runs from 3.8% to 7.0%. Novig has the total at 57.5, a number that expects points from both sides. That matches how Auburn's SEC games have gone, but the 16-point upset win at Georgia showed this group can also hold an opponent down. Full prices are on the game page.

Auburn has already beaten the top team in the country once this season, so it can play with anyone. What is still unclear is whether Durkin will change his secondary before Ole Miss's receivers force him to.