Looking at the tape: Auburn looks great in season opener
Auburn football’s dominating win over the Akron Zips was an exciting moment for fans as they watched the start of the Bryan Harsin era on The Plains.
In the 60-10 route, the Tigers did a lot of things really well on both sides of the ball.
For the past several years, I made an Auburn football gif thread that has been on Twitter every Sunday after the Tigers had a game. Well now that I’m the editor here at The Auburn Wire, I want to put those plays here where I can write a little bit more than a few sentences about a play if I want to.
I want to look at some of the top plays from Saturday’s elite offensive performance from the Tigers.
Bo Nix had an incredible first half and Auburn appears to have three legitimate options at the running back position with Tank Bigsby, Shaun Shivers, and Jarquez Hunter.
Let’s take a look at some of the top plays from Saturday night.
Tank is going to be hard to stop this season
We all saw this play a million times on Saturday. Here you see some great blocking by the left side of the line. Brandon Council's move to left guard is already paying off. The star running back finished the deal. Bigsby celebrating at the 15 is the pure raw emotion that having fans back in the seats brings to college football.
Linemen staying on their blocks
Here's another run by Bigsby. Sure, he's hard to bring down, but I want you to look at right tackle Brodarious Hamm (59). He doesn't give up on his block. That was a common theme last night. Offensive linemen never stopped blocking. Discipline. Looked like a different team because of these little things.
Poise in the pocket
Here's my favorite play from Bo Nix from the game. He has every chance in the world to leave the pocket. He could have gone anywhere with the football. He took his time and looked through his options. He went with the check down to Bigsby. The correct play.
Passing to the running backs
We can expect to see more passes to the running backs this year. Great downfield blocking by Caylin Newton (25), John Samuel Shenker(47), and Malcolm Johnson Jr(16). Man, Shivers in space is fun to watch.
Winning off of play-action
I love the play-action movement by the offensive line. The line did a great job selling the run. When Nix turns around, he goes with his first read. The ball is a tad underthrown. Ja'Various Johnson was wide open so no harm done. Something to look at moving forward.
Shedrick Jackson deserves to be a starter
We have a similar play here. Once Nix looks downfield, he goes with the first read. This time it is Shedrick Jackson. The ball is a tad underthrown but a great play by Jackson. The veteran receiver showed the world why he is a starter last night. Great news for the Auburn Tigers.
An all-around great play
This is pass and catch is absolute money. Kobe Hudson had his ups and downs during fall camp. He executed well on this route, finding space and pulling in the pass. On another note, watch Tank in pass protection. The guy can do everything, including making sure Nix's blindside is protected.
Shivers can do it all
The way Shivers uses his power and his speed is such a valuable part of his game. He runs with a purpose. I saw someone say that he runs towards the back of the end zone, not the goal line. So true. Also, love the subtle cutback when he saw the hole. Shivers is a complete SEC back.
A special freshman
Jarquez Hunter had an awesome run here. I love the patience that he shows as he has to slowly work outside. Great block by Elijah Canion to help get Hunter to the outside.
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