AUBURN, Ala. - Ted Roof probably had a little something extra in his trick-or-treat bag, courtesy of Gus Malzahn.

Probably the good stuff too. Not that orange-and-black bulk candy.

Roof’s defense had the good stuff Saturday, getting pressure on Ole Miss quarterback Jevan Snead, stopping drives and forcing turnovers.

Forget for a moment the personal relationship, or lack thereof, between Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt and his former offensive coordinator, Gus Malzahn.

Nutt couldn’t figure out what to do with Auburn’s defense, and that belongs to Roof.

Neither by ground nor air nor by Wild Rebel could the Rebels mount a consistent offense. They looked nothing like the unit that amassed more than 500 yards in each of its last two games, one of them against UAB.

Big gains were negated by holding penalties, one after a first down near the Auburn 10 after the Rebels got the break they needed with an Auburn fumble mid-way through the fourth quarter.

Beyond a 94-yard drive with their first possession and a 79-yard touchdown run by Dexter McCluster, the Rebels netted 221 yards for the remaining 55-plus minutes.

After the opening drive, the Rebels’ best possession went for 47 yards and ended in a punt from their own 48. Not great field position there, but the Rebels squandered drives that started at their 35, 41 and 48-yard lines, not to mention the Auburn 23 with 10 minutes, 4 seconds left in the game after a Tigers fumble.

Auburn got pressure on quarterback Jevan Snead, and Snead responded like a player who felt it, with less than 50 percent passing and two interceptions.

“If that wasn’t the best we’ve been on third-down defense, its one of the best. That starts with pressure up front. That was huge,” Auburn coach Gene Chizik said.

Auburn defensive end Antonio Coleman looked like a man among children, finishing with five tackles, two sacks, four pressures, four tackles for loss and a forced fumble.

Offense at Ole Miss these days comes in a tiny package. Listening to Nutt and Dexter McCluster talk it’s hard to determine if the Rebels’ utility player weighs as much as 170 pounds.

Stirred, then shaken

This much is clear, however. McCluster is a big-play machine, but he took the beating Saturday that the Rebels need him to avoid. He was shaken up after he was speared by an Auburn defender and was on the sideline later in the fourth quarter getting stretched out for cramps.

Nutt said Coleman was at a “different level.” The greater concern for Ole Miss is that’s line was at a different level too, a lower level than it had shown in two previous weeks. Nutt thought the group was turning the corner, but Saturday it appeared to take a step back.

This is not the time for stepping back. Ole Miss doesn’t have the luxury of earning bowl-eligibility next week against Northern Arizona. The Rebels have to find another win somewhere and face some pretty stout defenses in Oxford this month against LSU and Tennessee.

As talented as McCluster is he can’t carry the load alone on offense. He had more than 200 yards of total offense for the second straight week, 186 on the ground, and it wasn’t enough. Others need to get involved, and frankly, there wasn’t much impact from anyone else Saturday.

Apparently McCluster is fine after leaving the game in the third quarter with what was called a back spasm after he was hit hard by a diving Auburn defender at the end of a play.

He returned to the game, but it raises the question, “What happens if the hit comes, and McCluster doesn’t return?”

That thought is scary.

Parrish Alford (parrish.alford@djournal.com) covers Ole Miss for the Daily Journal. He blogs about Ole Miss athletics at NEMS360.com.