The Auburn Tigers defeated the Tulane Green Wave 24-6. The Tigers struggled all night on offense all night to sustain drives. The problem was the lack of running game by the Tigers in the first half , that caused true freshman Bo Nix to throw the ball way more than Coach Gus Malzahn would like. The Auburn running game in the first half was no where close to its standard only racking up 20 yards on 13 carries.
The Tigers leader at the running back position, JaTarvious Whitlow, came in with extra motivation coming into this week versus the Green Wave of Tulane. Imagine having the opportunity to show that one person what they could have had , only if you would have choose them . That was the story on Saturday night for Whitlow. He was so close to committing to the Green Wave before he choose the Tigers back in early 2017. The highly motivated Whitlow had a tough first half on opening night in front of an energized Jordan-Hare Stadium filled with 85 thousand fans.
The start was similar to the game last week where Whitlow had 32 yards on just nine carries vs Oregon. Whitlow ended the first half with eight carries only picking up 11 yards with a fumble. The expectations for the Auburn Tigers going into the second half was to feed Whitlow just like they did last week when he carried the ball more and finished with 24 carries. The Tigers started with a couple runs of the opening drive in the second half with Whitlow carrying the ball twice for little to no yards.
But at the end of the 3rd quarter Whitlow showed why he is one of the better backs in the SEC. On the second drive Whitlow carried the ball seven times racking up 48 yards. He ended the drive with a direct snap going to his right with two pulling lineman leading the way for a 14-yard touchdown run. The running game as a whole improved with Kam Martin also having a success in the second half. The Tigers ended with a total of 172 rushing yards. Whitlow ended with a game high 23 carries for 96 yards.
The Tigers will host Kent State next week on a national televised game starting at 6pm CST.
