AUBURN, Ala. – Sophomore running back Shaun Shivers went over 100 yards for just the second time in his Auburn career in Saturday's 55-16 win over Kent State. He made guys miss. He ran over players. It was an impressive performance as he averaged 8.5 yards per carry.
After the game, however, he didn't want any stories written about him.
"It's all big ups to the offensive line," Shivers said. "They did what they were supposed to do tonight. So when you're writing articles, I want you to talk about the offensive line because they were the ones that got it done."
To Shivers' point, he was one of three Auburn players to rush for over 100 yards Saturday. Fellow running back JaTarvious Whitlow led the way with 135 yards on the ground, and backup quarterback Joey Gatewood added a career-high 102 yards on just 12 carries. It was the first time Auburn has had three players with 100-plus rushing yards since Nov. 5, 1983.
As a team, the Tigers rushed for 467 yards – the most rushing yards in a game since they racked up 543 against Arkansas in 2016 – and averaged 7.5 yards per carry.
"When we're running the football and we're playing with pace, that's when we are at our best," Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn said. "It opens everything else up. So I thought it was a really good night. And I think more than anything, it was just a commitment to run the football. You saw that. We were very committed tonight, and I know that helped."
Committed would be an understatement. On Auburn's first three touchdown drives, 18 of the 22 plays were designed running plays. It was clear what the Tigers were trying to do.
And for an offensive line that has been through its share of ups and downs going back to last season, they responded to the challenge. Even with starting left tackle Prince Tega Wanogho out of the lineup, they dominated up front from start to finish.
"On the offensive line, there's no one person doing everything. We're a unit," said Bailey Sharp, Wanogho's replacement Saturday. "I couldn't have put those numbers up without Marquel Harrell, Kaleb Kim, Mike Horton and Jack Driscoll. We're just a unit. We're a band of brothers. And for me to step up – it was not so much me being a game-changer, but it was my duty to step up and fulfill my role."
For Sharp, it was his first career start at Auburn.
The focus now turns to next week and a trip to Texas A&M to begin SEC play. Running the ball against the Aggies will be a much more difficult task, but Saturday's performance should give this Auburn offense confidence moving forward.
"I believe in my offensive line, and I knew they were going to come in and get some good push up front," running back Kam Martin said. "It brings a lot of confidence. Guys that haven't played a lot, they played. And now it's time."
"It felt really good to run the ball," added quarterback Bo Nix. "And now I believe it will open up other things and our receivers can get going and then we can be a complete offense. But to go over 450 yards rushing on anybody, that's really good. We finally found our rhythm as an offense, and hopefully we can keep that going in the next few weeks."
Where does that rhythm start? Up front with the offensive line.