Tank is back!

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1. Auburn Tigers Sports

Tank Bigsby gets back in stride in Auburn win against Ole Miss

Updated: Oct. 30, 2021, 10:41 p.m. | Published: Oct. 30, 2021, 10:28 p.m.

 

 

By Nubyjas Wilborn | nwilborn@al.com

No. 18 Auburn mixed in some old school ground and pound in Saturday’s 31-20 victory against No. 10 Ole Miss in front of 87,451 at Jordan-Hare. Tank Bigsby rushed for 140 yards and a touchdown. Bigsby scored the second Tiger touchdown soaring over the Rebel defensive line into the south endzone with 1:49 left in the first quarter. Auburn took a 13-3 advantage in a game where they maintained a lead throughout.

 

Bigsby’s leap came on a third and goal. The Tigers entered the game with lots of questions about their running game.

 

 

“In my head, I was like ‘we can’t lose this game,’” Bigsby said. I did whatever I had to do to help us win this game. I always wanted to score with a jump like that. I saw how low their guys were, so I went for it. I said to myself, ‘I’m getting us a touchdown.’

 

 

Bigsby getting the touchdown started to answer the inquiries with empathic emphasis. His teammates realized Bigsby was ready for his first 100-yard rushing game since September 18 against Penn State.

 

“I saw it in his eyes. I could tell he was going to go out there and ball. It was amazing,” linebacker Zakoby McClain told reporters after the game. “I knew he was going to turn up.”

 

Bigsby did the heavy lifting on the ground, but he wasn’t alone. Quarterback Bo Nix ran for two touchdowns and 30 yards. Nix scored Auburn’s first touchdown with an 11-yard run on the Tigers’ initial possession of the game. Nix gave the Tigers a 20-10 lead with his second touchdown with 6:20 remaining in the first half.

 

 

“It’s important for me to get involved in the run game,” Nix told reporters. “We have to get those yards when it’s time to run the ball. We finished drives in the first half and it started with Tank.”

 

 

Auburn had 207 yards on the ground and needed them all. Jarquez Hunter had 40 yards on 12 carries. Bigsby got his yards on 23 touches. Beating Ole Miss was a combination of the defense holding the Rebels to three points in the second half and the offensive line making necessary blocks to free the runners.

 

“We came into this game confident,” offensive lineman Brandon Council said. “Seeing Tank handle his business made us want to fight even harder. We needed to get back to running the ball and we did it.”

 

 

Auburn’s win pushes their record to 6-2 and 2-1 in the conference. Next week the Tigers travel to Texas A & M for a road game against the Aggies.

 

 

Nubyjas Wilborn is an Auburn beat writer for Alabama Media Group.