The Tigers rushing attack responded Saturday night, and in a big way.
For the first time since 1983, Auburn had three players rush for over 100 yards. The last trio to do it was Bo Jackson, Lionel James and Tommie Agee.
JaTarvious ‘Boobee’ Whitlow continued his strong season with 17 carries for 135 yard and two touchdowns, while Shaun Shivers added 102 yards on 12 attempts. Joey Gatewood was the final rusher and finished 102 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. For Whitlow, it was his second 100-yard game of the season.
This comes a week removed from a 24-6 win over Tulane where the Tigers managed just 20 yards at halftime.
“When we’re running the football and playing with pace, that’s when we are at our best. It opens everything else up,” Gus Malzahn said. “So I thought it was a really good night, and I think more than anything it was probably just a commitment to run the football. We were very committed tonight and I know that helped.”
The Auburn offense racked up 633 yards of total offense, with 467 of those coming on the ground. That is the most rushing yards in a game since the Tigers rushed for 543 yards against Arkansas in 2016.
Eight different players carried the ball against Kent State. Kam Martin and Bo Nix each added rushing touchdowns of their own.
"It was really, really good,” said Malzahn. “It was really good for developing depth and it was really good for morale for some of those younger guys to get a chance to show what they can do.”
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