OXFORD (AP) — Kamryn Pettway smashed his 240-pound body into Ole Miss’ defensive line and then disappeared for a moment behind a pile of bodies. A second later, he appeared a few yards downfield, accelerated and was gone for 41 yards and a touchdown.

Auburn’s broad-shouldered sophomore was well on his way to a career night.
No. 15 Auburn beat Ole Miss 40-29 on Saturday, pulling away in the fourth quarter after a tight game for most of the night. Pettway finished with a career-high 236 rushing yards, beating his previous high of 192 set last week against Arkansas.

“The offensive line did a good job,” Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said. “But he also just ran over some people.”

Ole Miss’ Chad Kelly threw for a school-record 465 yards, beating Archie Manning’s previous mark of 436 yards set in 1969. Kelly also threw three touchdown passes and one interception.

But the Rebels couldn’t keep up with Auburn, which finished with 554 total yards.

“I hate losing more than anything,” Kelly said. “I don’t know what else to say.”

Auburn (6-2, 4-1 Southeastern Conference) won its fifth straight. Ole Miss (3-5, 1-4) lost its third in a row.

“The defense has picked us up at certain points this year,” Auburn quarterback Sean White said. “Tonight, we had to pick them up a little bit.”

Ole Miss took a 22-20 lead into the locker room and had its chances in the second half, but once again blew a halftime lead. The Rebels have five losses this season despite never trailing at the break.

The backbreaker for Ole Miss was midway through the fourth quarter when a wide-open Evan Engram dropped what would have almost certainly been a go-ahead touchdown. It marred an otherwise excellent night for the senior tight end — he finished with a team-high nine catches for 95 yards and a touchdown.

“I was wide open,” Engram said. “Chad threw it on a line. It was low and I didn’t get it. It was there for me.”

On the next play, Kelly threw his only interception of the night and Auburn returned it to the Ole Miss 25.Three plays later, Kerryon Johnson scored on a 3-yard run and Auburn led 40-29.

“We battled toe to toe for most of the game,” Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze said. “But for whatever reason, in this game you have years where the margin of error for a team is just so small and one or two plays make such a huge impact.”