Auburn offensive line, take a bow. You as well, Jake Thornton and Darren Hiller. You and your offensive line deserve it after a dominating performance for Auburn in the Tigers' 38-24 victory over Baylor on Friday night.
The Tigers rushed for 307 yards, averaging 5.9 yards per attempt, as the revamped O-line did its job in what can only be seen as a significant positive sign for this season.
Auburn was so dominant up front that it changed Hugh Freeze's plans.
The offensive line, I thought, just put their wheel on it and dominated the line of scrimmage," Freeze said. "That's frustrating sometimes for me and Jackson (Arnold). We like to throw it with the receivers we've got, but they were just not going to let us do that. So he was patient and made the right decisions most of the night."
The right decision was made by Arnold in his debut performance for the Tigers as the quarterback rushed for a team-high 137 yards and two touchdowns, including the 27-yard run late in the fourth quarter that put the game away.
Arnold had nothing but praise for the five guys in front of him.
"I thought they played their butts off, came out firing early," Arnold said. "We just took what the defense gave us. They were kinda being stubborn, playing two high safeties, giving us a favorable box, and we took what was ours and ran the ball."
It was a change from the past when the Tigers struggled to move the opposing team backwards. On Friday night, it was Auburn who were the aggressors. Damari Alston, a benefactor from that push, was motivating the big guys up front the whole game.
"They did their job tonight," Alston said. "They did everything they're supposed to do. I kept going up to them on the sidelines and told them, "Keep punching them in the mouth. Keep driving the ball.' We're just going to keep doing the same thing all game unless they want to stop it."