OXFORD, Miss. _ Chad Kelly had a career night, but it was Sean White's moment.
White's effectiveness in the fourth quarter helped Auburn overcome a disastrous defensive performance and escape Oxford with a 40-29 win on Saturday night.
The sophomore quarterback put Auburn in position to take a 30-29 lead early in the fourth quarter. He completed a pair of first down throws and ran for another down to Ole Miss' 22-yard line on a late-game drive.
The possession sputtered inside the 20-yard line, but Daniel Carlson came on for the 30-yard field goal with 12:25 left in the game.
It was the eighth and final lead change of the night.
Auburn's win _ the sixth of the season making the Tigers bowl-eligible _ made Kelly's gaudy offensive numbers meaningless.
Chad Kelly threw for a career-high 465 yards, breaking the program record Archie Manning set when he threw for 436 yards against Alabama in 1969.
Kelly had more yards at the half (260) than Auburn's secondary has given up all season, but it was a pair of plays the senior didn't make that will be remembered.
After standout tight end Evan Engram dropped what would have been a sure touchdown with less than eight minutes left, Kelly threw an interception right into the hands of Joshua Holsey.
The turnover allowed Auburn to take its first two-possession lead of the game. Kerryon Johnson scored from 3 yards out with 5:58 to go for a 40-29 lead.
Auburn's first attempt at taking a lead in the second half was shorter lived when the defense forced Ole Miss to punt for the first time with less than six minutes to go in the third quarter.
With Auburn facing a third-and-13 backed up at midfield, White scrambled 16 yards for a first down to extend the drive.
White completed a 33-yard pass to a wide-open Marcus Davis to get the offense inside Ole Miss' 20-yard line. Two plays later he found sophomore tight end Jalen Harris for a 15-yard touchdown.
Auburn's celebration lasted less than two minutes.
Kelly completed three passes for 46 yards and broke a 21-yard run to get Ole Miss back into the end zone. Kelly capped off a quick 75-yard scoring drive with a 10-yard toss to Damore'ea Stringfellow.
Ole Miss showed it could effectively neutralize Auburn's intimidating front right out of the gate by having Kelly get rid of the ball quickly on short drop backs.
Montravius Adams knocked down a pass at the line of scrimmage on the opening drive, but that was the only time Auburn's defensive line disrupted any of Kelly's early attempts.
On a 12-play, 78-yard drive to open the game, the senior completed passes of at least 10-yards or more to four different receivers.
Kelly hit his favorite target Evan Engram four times on the opening possession with the final completion going for a 15-yard touchdown.
Ole Miss' second drive followed a similar script with Kelly marching his team right down field and hitting DaMarkus Lodge for a 26-yard touchdown.
The first quarter ended with Ole Miss knocking on the door a third time.
Kelly's 212 passing yards in the first 15 minutes were three short of the 215 total yards of offense Arkansas put up against Auburn's defense the previous week.
Auburn relied on its full stable of running backs to keep pace.
White hit Kyle Davis for a 9-yard gain on the lone third down attempt of the drive the Tigers' first possession, but the running backs did the rest.
Kamryn Pettway, Johnson and Stanton Truitt each carried the ball on the Tigers' 10-play, 90-yard drive.
Pettway scored his seventh touchdown of the season with a 41-yard run The former fullback barreling through the middle of Ole Miss' defensive line to give his team a 7-6 lead with 7:27 go.
The sophomore disappeared in a sea of red and blue only to come out the other side undeterred.
Pettway broke another long run early in the second quarter down to Ole Miss' 3-yard line where Johnson punched it in from the 1-yard line out of the wildcat.
Johnson's first touchdown in three weeks gave Auburn a 17-16 lead with 12:33 to go in the first half.
The teams traded the lead five times in the wild first half with Ole Miss going to the tunnel up 22-20.
