OXFORD — On Wednesday morning, Jonathan Cruz was on the field at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, essentially all alone.

He was set up on the right hash of the 35-yard line, the north end zone stands to his back. Cruz was practicing a squib kick, trying to get it to go 10 yards and not much further.

On Saturday afternoon, with Ole Miss holding onto a narrow 31-24 lead, that Wednesday morning session paid off.

Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin called for an onside kick with 9:45 left in the third quarter, just after Cruz’s 23-yard field goal. Cruz executed it to perfection. As Auburn retreated, Cruz’s kick rolled. Wide receiver Brandon Buckhaulter ran 10 yards, turned his back and let the ball come to him.

A few plays later, Quinshon Judkins was in the end zone on the tail end of a 3-yard touchdown run, extending Ole Miss’ lead to 38-24.

That extra possession, and the score that accompanied it, proved to be the difference Saturday as No. 9 Ole Miss outlasted Auburn, 48-34.

Auburn didn’t roll over and play dead. Robby Ashford’s 11-yard run with 2:30 left in the third quarter cut Ole Miss’ advantage to 38-31.

Cruz answered with a 42-yard field goal with 12:28 left, pushing the Rebels’ advantage to 41-31.

Auburn’s Anders Carlson responded with a 28-yard field goal on the Tigers’ ensuing possession, pulling the Tigers back within one score, 41-34, with 9:05 left.

Ole Miss answered with an eight-play, 75-yard scoring drive on its next possession, capped by Judkins’ 41-yard touchdown run with 6:26 remaining, to push its lead back out to two scores, 48-34.

Deantre Prince’s interception with less than four minutes left put the game on ice for Ole Miss.

Ole Miss improved to 7-0 overall and 3-0 in the Southeastern Conference. Auburn fell to 3-4 and 1-3 in the league.

Ole Miss ran for 448 yards Saturday, getting 139 yards rushing from Judkins, 136 from Evans and another 115 from Dart. The Rebels’ quarterback was 9-for-19 passing for 130 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.

Auburn had 441 yards of total offense, including 301 on the ground. Tank Bigsby had 20 carries for 179 yards and two touchdowns. Jarquez Hunter added 80 yards on 10 carries. Ashford was 8-for-17 passing for 140 yards and two interceptions.

Ole Miss jumped out to a 21-0 lead and appeared poised for a blowout win. Dart connected with Dayton Wade on a 35-yard touchdown pass, converting AJ Finley’s interception. Then Dart connected with Zach Evans on a 23-yard touchdown pass, extending the lead to 14-0.

After Jared Ivey and Tavius Robinson combined to force a fumble from TJ Finley, Evans scored from three yards out and with 14:36 left in the first half, Ole Miss was in total control.

Auburn controlled the second quarter. Ashford capped a nine-play, 75-yard scoring drive with a 2-yard run to put Auburn on the board. A possession later, Bigsby capped an eight-play, 76-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown run to pull Auburn within 21-14.

Ole Miss got a 7-yard touchdown throw from Dart to Judkins to extend its lead to 28-14 but an interception on the Ole Miss 33 set up Anders Carlson’s 42-yard field goal on the final play of the half, pulling the Tigers within 28-17 at intermission.

Bigsby’s 50-yard TD run on the opening drive of the third quarter pulled Auburn to within 28-24, setting up the third-quarter onside kick that likely was the difference for the Rebels.

Ole Miss travels to LSU next Saturday. The game, set for a 2:30 p.m. kickoff at Tiger Stadium, will be televised nationally on CBS.

Notes:

— With tight end Michael Trigg (collarbone) out, Ole Miss opened in a four-wide receiver alignment with Malik Heath, Jonathan Mingo, Jordan Watkins and Wade starting.

— Tight end Casey Kelly came in on the Rebels’ second possession of the game.

— Eli Acker was limited Saturday and only played one possession. In his absence, Jeremy James moved to right guard. Acker came into the game when Micah Pettus suffered an injury in the second quarter. When Pettus returned, the Rebels returned to their starting lineup.

— Wide receiver Jaylon Robinson, who was injured at Vanderbilt last week, did not dress Saturday.

— SEC commissioner Greg Sankey watched most of Saturday’s game from the press box. Sankey and several members of his staff left in the third quarter.