Auburn head coach Bryan Harsin preached the “1-0” mindset to his team all offseason. There was even a banner hanging below the Tiger Walk sign on Saturday that read “1-0.”
And following the 60-10 dismantling of Akron in Harsin’s Auburn head coaching debut, his team was in fact, 1-0.
“From the game tonight, I thought we played well,” Harsin said. “We played consistent and we took advantage of the situations we were in. It was awesome for this staff and this team to go out there and get a [win]. To be 1-0.”
Prior to kickoff, for the first time since 2019, the Tiger Walk returned, tailgates were held and the eagle took flight over a full-capacity Jordan-Hare Stadium. The 83,821 fans in attendance got a look at the new era firsthand, which could not have started any better.
“It was awesome to be out there in front of this crowd,” Harsin said. “The environment, the fans, just being out there in the stadium, I know for our guys it was exciting.”
Auburn scored a touchdown in each of its first five possessions, behind quarterback Bo Nix’s arm and running back Tank Bigsby’s legs.
Bigsby ran for 49 yards on four carries in the opening drive for Auburn and scored the Tigers’ first touchdown. From the Akron 32-yard line, Bigsby broke free on the left side and saw nothing but green grass in front of him.
As he sprinted past the student section, the sophomore began to celebrate and crossed the goal line to put Auburn on the board for the first time in 2021.
“I was just very excited, the first [touchdown] of the season,” Bigsby said. “It was a big moment.”
Auburn spread the ball around early, both on the ground and in the air. Nix worked through his progressions, used the whole field and completed his first 11 passes while throwing three touchdowns.
“I thought he did a good job,” Harsin said. “What I got to see was his presence and leadership in the huddle. He managed the game well. I’m proud of him.”
The three touchdown passes tied Nix’s career-high in a game, all three of which were to different receivers. Not only did the touchdowns tie a career-high, they tied Nix’s father, Patrick Nix, for eighth all-time in career passing touchdowns at Auburn with 31.
“It means a lot,” Nix said on the accomplishment. “That whole thing is kind of a contribution of where I’m at. To tie [Patrick Nix], it’s crazy that there’s a bunch of stats that in between games I end up stuck at the same statistic he was.”
Nix threw a few deep passes, where he connected with his receivers for large chunks of yards and at times, a touchdown. He had touchdown passes of 19, 28 and 34 yards, with his longest pass of the game being a 42-yard strike to Shedrick Jackson.
The junior quarterback finished the night 20 for 22 for 245 yards passing, which set a school record for highest completion percentage with over 20 completions.
Harsin credited the ground game with opening up opportunities for big plays through the air.
“I think when you can run the ball, you can take shots,” Harsin said. “If we can run the ball, we can get big chunks, we can take big shots down the field.”
Bigsby finished the night as Auburn’s leading rusher with 119 total yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries. Not far behind him was true freshman Jarquez Hunter, who saw plenty of action in the second half.
“I knew Jarquez when he got the opportunity, he’s just gonna do what he does,” Bigsby said of Hunter. “He’s a great running back. He’s got good vision and he’s quick, so I knew he was going to do that.”
Hunter rushed for 110 yards in his college debut, punching it across the goal line late for his first career score.
A key component to Auburn’s offensive success was an offensive line that not only created holes for the run game, but protected its quarterback. The Tigers did not allow a sack on Saturday, giving Nix time to execute against the opposing defense.
“I thought we executed well,” said offensive tackle Austin Troxell. “I thought we played pretty physical up front.”
By the time the clock hit zero, Auburn had accumulated 612 total yards of offense, while allowing just 212 total yards on defense. The win is the start in the right direction for Auburn into a new era, but for Harsin, the time to celebrate is limited.
“We have 24 hours,” Harsin said. “We’ll celebrate this win, we’ll come back tomorrow. We need everybody back, everybody focused and we’ll get on to the next opponent.”
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Originally from Helena, Ala., Caleb Jones is a senior studying journalism at Auburn University. He has been on staff with The Plainsman since 2019.
You can follow him here on Twitter: @calebjsports
