It wasn’t always pretty, but Auburn did what it was expected to do on Saturday night, beating Kent State 55-16. The Tigers, seemingly sleeping through a couple of drives, took control in the second quarter and never looked back.

Some rapid reactions from tonight’s win:

Nix’s progression

There were some positives in Bo Nix’s performance, especially the fact that he kept the ball on run-pass options when he saw the lane and gained some yards (and a touchdown) on the ground. That isn’t something we were seeing from freshman in the first two games.

Now, about his footwork. Yikes. With a wide open receiver in the end zone near the end of the 2nd quarter, Nix vastly overthrew him after attempting a pass off his front foot. This was an ongoing trend for Nix in the first half as, for the first time really, he seemed unsettled in the pocket.

He seemed more confident in the second, stepping into the throw that found Eli Stove wide open for a touchdown on a flea flicker. Yet, you will take 12-of-16 (two of them drops) for 161 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions from him in a game where he wasn’t asked to do too much.

Status of Derrick Brown

Needless to say, Auburn’s defense needs Brown on the field. After heading to the locker room in the first quarter with what ESPN announcers said were conditions from being tired, one can only hope that he was either dehydrated or has some sort of bug. If he misses major time, that makes this defense a bit vulnerable up front.

Whitlow best man going forward

Boobie Whitlow seemed like a different man in the 2nd half, but his struggles in the first half are concerning. He still seems to be waiting for a hole to open instead of attack, going north and south, which Kam Martin (especially on his 1st quarter touchdown run) and Shaun Shivers seem to do. Still, Whitlow finished with 135 yards and two touchdowns, so there isn’t much to gripe about there.

Offensive line needs to improve more

Sure, they took control of the game in the second half when the Golden Flashes were tired, but that won’t be the case starting next week when Auburn travels to College Station to take on Texas A&M. This was supposed to be an improved group but the offensive linemen continue to show all of the troubles that plagued Auburn’s offense last season. A bad offensive line rarely wins on the road. If they continue to struggle, the offense won’t be there. Plain and simple.