AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn kicked off the Bryan Harsin era with a dominating performance, overpowering Akron 60-10 Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium in the 2021 season opener.
"Our guys came out ready to play," Harsin said. "Today was an example of what we're capable of doing. I'm excited about the opportunity to be here and have a chance to go out there and be in that environment. It certainly was an experience."
Bo Nix completed his first 11 pass attempts and was 20-for-22 for 275 yards and three touchdowns. The Tigers scored touchdowns on their first five possessions and Anders Carlson kicked a 44-yard field goal with 2 seconds left in the half to give Auburn a 37-0 halftime lead.
"It was good to be out there, see our guys play and cut it loose," Harsin said. "It was awesome for this staff and this team to go out there and get a W and to be 1-0."
Tank Bigsby scored the season's first touchdown on a 32-yard run to cap Auburn's opening drive. Bigsby rushed for 119 yards on 13 carries and a pair of TDs.
After Auburn's defense forced a three-and-out, Nix hit Shaun Shivers out of the backfield for a 19-yard touchdown on first-and-goal to put the Tigers ahead 13-0.
Auburn stopped Akron on fouth-and-1 from the Zips' 34-yard line to give the Tigers excellent field position to start the second quarter.
Nix found Ja'Varrius Johnson running alone down the middle for a 34-yard touchdown that gave Auburn a 20-0 lead.
Auburn drove 92 yards in six plays to take a 27-0 lead. Nix began the drive from Auburn's 8-yard line with a 42-yard pass to Shedrick Jackson. Nix found Kobe Hudson for a 28-yard touchdown on his 10th straight completion.
The Tigers stopped Akron again on fourth down to regain possession at the Zips' 45. Nine plays later, Bigsby scored his second TD from the 1 to give Auburn a 34-0 lead with 3:13 remaining in the half.
Auburn got the ball back once more at its 8-yard line at the 1:06 mark and promptly drove 65 yards in seven plays to set up Carlson's field goal. Nix was 5 of 6 on the drive for 50 yards and also scrambled for a 15-yard gain.
Gallery: (9-4-2021) Auburn 60, Akron 10
Bigsby eclipsed the 100-yard mark for the fifth time in his career on his second carry of the second half, a 32-yard pickup.
Shivers gave Auburn a 44-0 lead with a 26-yard touchdown run, his second score of the night.
After an errant Akron snap on a punt attempt led to a safety that made it 46-0, T.J. Finley relieved Nix and scored his first Auburn touchdown on a 1-yard sneak to give the Tigers a 53-0 lead. True freshman running back Jarquez Hunter began the drive with a 37-yard gain on his first carry, Auburn's longest rush.
Akron avoided the shutout with a 4-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter on an 80-yard drive and added a field goal with 2:48 left.
Hunter scored his first Auburn touchdown on a 9-yard run with 28 seconds left to close out the scoring, finishing with 110 yards on nine carries.
"We did get an opportunity to get a lot of guys in, which is going to help us," Harsin said.
Making his first start in his 50th Auburn game, T.D. Moultry recorded a career-high seven tackles, including three of Auburn's 11 tackles for loss. Zakoby McClain, the nation's leading tackler in 2020, shared the team lead with seven tackles.
Marquis Burks made two of Auburn's six sacks. Moultry, Derick Hall, Colby Wooden and Marcus Harris also registered sacks.
The Tigers scored on their first eight possessions and did not punt until the 5:11 mark of the third quarter.
Auburn welcomed the return of full stadium capacity, with 83,821 on hand to witness Harsin's debut.
"It was awesome to be out there in front of this crowd," Harsin said. "Great energy. That's something we can't simulate in practice, that environment. It was rocking all the way through the game."
The Tigers welcome Alabama State to Jordan-Hare Stadium next Saturday at 11 a.m. CT on SEC Network.
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer
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