Tank Bigsby’s 1st half, offensive involvement draws reaction as Auburn faces Missouri
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Tank Bigsby and Auburn are at home on Saturday to take on Missouri.
Auburn is looking to bounce back from an awful 41-12 loss to Penn State in Week 3. Bryan Harsin faced plenty of criticism after that one, but much of it centered around the lack of involvement of Bigsby in the Tigers’ offense. The running back had just 9 carries for 39 yards, and that’s after 13 carries for 51 yards in Auburn’s close win over San Jose State.
Things have changed against Mizzou as in the 1st quarter, he topped the number of touches he had in the entire game against the Nittany Lions. Through a half of play, he has 12 attempts for 36 yards and a touchdown, which he scored with just under 3 minutes remaining in the 1st:
????????? @tank_bigsby ?
14-0 Good guys #WarEagle? | ?https://t.co/pQk5h4rqz3 pic.twitter.com/SU4xQuAoap
— Auburn Football (@AuburnFootball) September 24, 2022
That said, Auburn has managed just 111 yards of total offense through 30 minutes of play against Mizzou as the score is 14-14 at the break. Harsin could face even more calls for his job if his team isn’t able to win on Saturday, and while he tried to use Bigsby more in the offense in the 1st, it’s tailed off for some reason as Bigsby touched it just 3 times in the 2nd. That’s led to plenty of social media reaction:
Glad Bryan Harsin remembered what happens when you give Tank Bigsby the ball
— JP Acosta (@acosta32_jp) September 24, 2022
Tank Bigsby just had his 10th carry of the day, which was more than he had all of last week.
Also of note, it went for a TD to give Auburn more points than it had last week.
(Also, also of note? Mizzou ain’t Penn State.)
— Connor O'Gara (@cjogara) September 24, 2022
It appears that Bryan Harsin remembered that Tank Bigsby exists and is on his roster.
— Barrett Sallee ?? (@BarrettSallee) September 24, 2022
It’s crazy how well Auburn plays when Tank Bigsby is allowed to touch the ball.
— Dylan Larck (@yaboithetank) September 24, 2022
tank bigsby carries the entire team
— Xana Solomonik (@xleosol) September 24, 2022
Tank Bigsby getting the respect he deserves by the coaching staff (hopefully the public respect coming back soon). Finally realizing running the ball with their best player is probably how they’ll win games
— Tyler_FF (@Tyler_FF_) September 24, 2022
Weird it’s almost like giving @tank_bigsby the ball is a good game plan. #analysis #sabermetrics
— Brewer Carter (@TheBrewersBest) September 24, 2022
https://twitter.com/TidebyTide/status/1573713876100734977
God I love Tank Bigsby.
— Swank Sinatra, Legendary Lover (@SwankierSinatra) September 24, 2022
Remember the first quarter when @tank_bigsby was being fed? That was fun.
— Angela Hutchens (@Angela_Hutchens) September 24, 2022
https://twitter.com/CasinoTay/status/1573721387935694848
Note: Tank Bigsby didn’t touch the ball that drive.
Result: 3 and out— Aubie’s son? (@AubieSon) September 24, 2022
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
