Improvement on offensive line

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Auburn gets improvement on offensive line

By Nubyjas Wilborn | nwilborn@al.com

3-4 minutes

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No. 12 Auburn (6-2, 3-1 SEC )enters Saturday’s contest against No. 13 Texas A & M (6-2, 4-1 SEC) with hopes of a rematch with Georgia still intact. The Tigers control their destiny through a team effort that starts with improvement from the offensive line.

Bo Nix had an incredible October punctuated by his 276 passing yards and two rushing touchdowns in last week’s win against Ole Miss. Tank Bigsby got back in the groove against the Rebels with his first 100-yard performance since the Penn State loss in Happy Valley. None of that happens without the line protecting Nix and providing running lanes for Bigsby.

“We’re finally getting that chemistry. We used to start off doing a rotation and all that stuff. And I think we’re starting to settle in, and we’re finding that chemistry, and we’re just coming together as an O-line,” Offensive lineman Brandon Council said after Saturday’s win. “We’re all on the same page, us and Bo. When we’re in the wrong protection, Bo will check us and make sure we’re in the right spot. And we just made the blocks from there. We’re just more sound as a unit as the year goes along.

Nix completed passes to 11 receivers against Arkansas and 10 versus Ole Miss. The Tiger offense is spreading the ball around. When Nix has time to survey the field, he’s making sound choices to either run the ball himself or throw to one of the many pass catchers for the Tigers.

Nix got sacked twice against Ole Miss but mostly didn’t face a lot of pressure. The Tiger offensive line didn’t allow a sack in the previous game against the Razorbacks. Nix credits the offensive line for the offense finding its stride.

“It’s huge. Our guys are doing a good job. The main thing is we’re getting protections right. We’re not just having free rushers coming through. We’re doing a good job of seeing things and sorting it out and getting a hat on a hat,” Nix said. “Our guys are good enough to block them when they’re pressuring. Today we picked up some pressures. That was good to see. Then our guys are winning their one-on-ones.”

The Tigers face another tough test against the Aggies, who have a stout defensive front led by tackle DeMarvin Leal. Auburn is a four-point underdog, according to several sportsbooks. If they’re going to upset the Aggies, it’ll likely be because the line provided time and space for Nix and the crew to operate. Head coach Bryan Harsin seemed optimistic about where the line is headed going to the game.

They’ve improved; we’ve had different guys at the guard and tackle positions come in and play, which has been good. We’ve got a little bit of depth there,” Harsin said. And, you know, I did think we played physical in this last game, which was good. We’re always trying to do that, so we’ve just got to continue with those things moving forward. And we’ll look back from the first game to the last game to see how far we came.”

Nubyjas Wilborn covers Auburn for Alabama Media Group.

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