AUBURN, Ala. – Tank Bigsby and Jarquez Hunter both surpassed the 100-yard mark for the second straight week and Auburn shut out Western Kentucky in the second half to lead the Tigers to a 41-17 Senior Day victory Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
"Those kids are special," Auburn interim head coach Carnell Williams said. "Give these kids credit, and this staff."
Tied 17-17 at the half, Auburn outscored the Hilltoppers 24-0 in the second half, putting the game out of reach on D.J. James' 22-yard interception return for a touchdown with 6:15 to play.
Jaylin Simpson recorded the first of two Auburn turnovers, intercepting a pass to end Western Kentucky's first drive of the second half.
After the teams exchanged punts, Bigsby rushed twice for 20 yards, then Robby Ashford faked a jet sweep pitch and threw deep to Ja'Varrius Johnson for 29 yards to set up Alex McPherson's 28-yard field goal to give Auburn a 20-17 lead.
The Tigers added to their lead late in third quarter on a seven-play, 78-yard drive. On third-and-4 from Auburn's 46-yard line, Ashford faked a toss to the right and ran to his left for 19 yards to WKU's 35.
From there, Ashford tossed left to Bigsby, who followed blocks by left tackle Kilian Zierer and fullback John Samuel Shenker 35 yards down the sideline to put Auburn head 27-17 with 1:08 remaining in the third quarter.
"It was awesome," Zierer said. "I ran out there, made my block and just saw Tank run by. Everybody started screaming on the sideline, a great moment."
After stopping WKU on fourth-and-23 at Auburn's 38-yard line, the Tigers drove 62 yards on four plays, with Bigsby and Hunter both passing the century mark on the drive. One play after Bigsby's 23-yard gain, Hunter raced 40 yards to his right on a toss sweep to give Auburn a 34-17 lead before James' pick-six 93 seconds later concluded the scoring.
"One thing the really good coaches have in common is getting the ball to their best players," Williams said.
Bigsby rushed 18 times for 110 yards and two touchdowns while Hunter gained 109 yards on 13 carries, rushing for a TD while throwing a touchdown pass.
"That's music to my ears, to see those guys feed off each other," Williams said. "I love to see those two guys rumbling. I love that one-two punch."
Auburn scored on its first possession, marching 68 yards on 13 plays and scoring on Bigsby's 1-yard run. On fourth-and-3 from WKU's 44, Ashford threw to Shedrick Jackson for 9 yards to extend the drive.
The Tigers led 10-0 after the first quarter thanks to McPherson's 51-yard field goal. Ashford was 5-for-5 for 50 yards on third downs in the opening quarter, picking up three first downs in the process.
After a Western Kentucky field goal, Auburn extended its lead to 17-3 midway through the second quarter when Ashford pitched to Hunter, who threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Koy Moore.
The Hilltoppers scored twice before halftime to tie it at 17-17 on a pair of touchdown passes from Austin Reed to Josh Simon, the latter coming with six seconds left in the half.
Before the game, the Tigers honored 24 seniors. Two walk-on seniors figured in the game's final plays, with walk-on Hayden Brice sacking WKU's backup quarterback on fourth down and Auburn quarterback Trey Lindsey taking a knee to run out the clock.
"Twenty-four seniors have been through two head coaches, multiple position coaches," Williams said. "The way they have responded, they want more. They gave me so much confidence to do this job."
Cam Riley led Auburn with eight tackles. The Tigers held WKU to 106 yards in the second half.
"[Defensive coordinator] Coach [Jeff] Schmedding is a heck of a coach," Williams said. "He and that staff do a really good job. They are locked in. They believe they can shut people out."
Auburn (5-6, 2-5) concludes the 2022 regular season next Saturday in the Iron Bowl in Tuscaloosa at 2:30 p.m. CT on CBS and the Auburn Sports Network.
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer
Postgame Notes>> Captains: Derick Hall, Owen Pappoe, John Samuel Shenker, all remaining seniors (game captains)
>> Coin Toss: Western Kentucky wins the toss and will receive
>> Interim head coach: Carnell Williams (2-1)
>> Eagle flight: Aurea from Section 46
>> Attendance: 81,824
TEAM NOTES
>> First-time starters for Auburn: Damari Alston, Dazalin Worsham
>> Auburn has scored in 128 consecutive games, the second-longest streak in school history.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES: OFFENSE
>> John Samuel Shenker extends his Auburn record for most career games played with 61.
>> Robby Ashford ranks 3rd among all-time Auburn freshman passers with 1,531 passing yards; 2nd is Stan White (2,242 in 1990).
>> Ashford is 3rd in freshman pass attempts (227); next is Stan White (338 in 1990). Ashford is 3rd in pass completions (112); next is Stan White (180 in 1990).
>> Ashford ranks 10th among Auburn freshman rushers with 589 yards; next is Jarquez Hunter (593 in 2021).
>> Tank Bigsby now has 2,845 career rushing yards, to rank 7th all-time at Auburn, passing Brent Fullwood (2,789 from 1983-86), and Stephen Davis (2,811 from 1993-95); next is Tre Mason (2,979 from 2011-13).
>> Bigsby's 110 rushing yards were the 13th 100-yard rushing game of his career.
>> Bigsby has 10 rushing touchdowns this season and 25 for his career (8th among Auburn career leaders, passing James Brooks, Brent Fullwood, Onterio McCalebb and Ben Tate). This is his 8th career game scoring multiple touchdowns.
>> Jarquez Hunter throws his first career TD pass. The Koy Moore TD catch was his first at Auburn.
>> Hunter now has 1,135 career rushing yards to rank 41st among Auburn career leaders; this was his 4th 100-yard rushing game (109 yds).
>> This was the second consecutive game Bigsby and Hunter each rushed for more than 100 yards.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES: DEFENSE
>> Jaylin Simpson records his second interception of the season (also Mississippi State) and third of his career.
>> D.J. James records his first interception at Auburn.
>> Cam Riley (8 tackles) led the Tigers in tackles for the second time this season.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES: SPECIAL TEAMS
>> Alex McPherson's 51-yard field goal was the longest of his career.