Rapid Reaction: Bryan Harsin era off to a strong start as Bo Nix, Tank Bigsby dominate Akron
By Adam Spencer
Published:
Akron went 1-5 in 2020, with all 5 losses coming by multiple touchdowns.
OK, now that we have that caveat out of the way, how about that performance by the Auburn Tigers in Bryan Harsin’s debut as head coach?!
Everything was working for the Tigers on Saturday night at Jordan-Hare Stadium, as they cruised to an easy 60-10 win.
Star RB Tank Bigsby got the scoring started with this nifty run:
There goes that man ? ?#WarEagle | @tank_bigsby pic.twitter.com/2WoRxpGKdR
— Auburn Football (@AuburnFootball) September 4, 2021
Bigsby finished the game with 13 carries for 119 yards and 2 touchdowns. Then, there was QB Bo Nix, who was electric.
Nix completed 20 of his 22 passes for 275 yards, 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. This was his first of the day, to WR Ja’Varrius Johnson:
Auburn WR Ja’Varrius Johnson scores his first career touchdown on this walk in catch from Bo Nix. pic.twitter.com/w6kaaTKMK3
— Auburn Tigers | AL.com (@aldotcomTigers) September 5, 2021
In the second half, backup QB TJ Finley, the transfer from LSU, came in and got some work. Many of the Tiger backups got some work in on Saturday evening.
The big story is Nix’s performance. If he can be better than he was in 2020, the Tigers could soon crack the top-25 rankings. We’ll see what happens as the opponents get more difficult.
Obviously, the road will get tougher for Auburn moving forward. After hosting Alabama State next weekend, the Tigers hit the road to take on a ranked Penn State team.
We’ll see if Nix and Bigsby and the Auburn defense can keep up the hot start over the next couple of weeks before SEC play kicks off.
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
