COLUMBIA, S.C. – Two weeks ago, Tank Bigsby made his first career start and led Auburn in both rushing and receiving yards. Last week, he rushed for over 100 yards in the first half alone and finished with a career-high 146 yards rushing. On Saturday, the milestones continued for the freshman running back who scored his first career touchdown at South Carolina.
It might be the easiest touchdown Bigbsy scores in his time at Auburn. The offensive line got a great push, allowing Bigsby to walk in from 2 yards out. But it's one he won't soon forget.
And though that particular run might not have looked all that difficult, Bigsby continued to run around, over and through defenders Saturday on his way to another 100-yard performance on the ground. He finished with 111 yards on just 16 carries, averaging 6.9 yards per carry.
"He ran extremely hard again this week, for the third week in a row," Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn said. "He broke tackles, ran with an attitude. He did a really good job, another 100-yard game. He'll be a factor moving forward."
"Since the Georgia game, I've seen a lot of potential in him," added wide receiver Eli Stove. "He's a hard runner. He's a competitor. We've got to feed him."
Bigsby now has 257 rushing yards over the last two games, and his 303 rushing yards on the year ranks 27th all-time among Auburn freshman rushers with six games still remaining in the regular season.
Eli Stove scores Auburn's first touchdownEND ZONE ELI
After missing Auburn's game against Arkansas, Eli Stove returned in a big way, making a team-high seven catches for 60 yards and scoring Auburn's first touchdown on an 11-yard slant on third-and-10 in the first quarter.
"We ran it the series before but they covered it up," Stove said. "They had a different coverage this time and I noticed it. I saw that the middle of the field was wide open, nobody was in there, so I just ran a slant and caught the ball."
At first, Stove didn't realize he was so close to paydirt, making his fifth career career touchdown catch and second of the season.
"I was stumbling," he said. "I was looking down because I was trying to figure out where I was [on the field]. I didn't know I was that close to the end zone honestly, but I was."
Stove moved into the top 10 in career receptions at Auburn, tying Greg Taylor (1987-90) at No. 10 with 102.
PAPPOE'S PICK
With South Carolina threatening to add to a 20-19 lead late in the third quarter, Owen Pappoe made his first career interception, picking off a pass broken up by Christian Tutt at Auburn's 17-yard line.
"I was man-to-man on the running back," Pappoe said. "I just broke to the ball. I saw the ball in the air when I went for it."
Pappoe recorded 10 tackles. Fellow linebacker Zakoby McClain led Auburn with 13 tackles, his third consecutive game with double-figures stops.
AUTOMATIC ANDERS
Anders Carlson made all three field goal attempts, from 35, 38 and 22 yards. With 41 career field goals, Carlson ranks No. 7 in Auburn history, passing Jorge Portela and Cody Parkey on Saturday.
Carlson now ranks 10th in career scoring at Auburn with 222 points, passing Joe Cribbs against the Gamecocks.
3-for-3: Anders Carlson kicked three field goals against South CarolinaJeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer