AUBURN | For an offensive line, it’s usually pick five and go. But for Auburn and, really, all of college football, these are unusual times.

For the Tigers specifically, they’re trying to replace four starters from last season at a position that was disrupted by positive COVID-19 tests or contacts during preseason practice. Because of weekly testing, SEC teams undergo three per week, there’s also a need to develop depth at every position in case one or more of your starters have to sit out a week or two.

“We actually rotated each guard, which, we've never done before,” said Auburn coach Gus Malzahn after Auburn’s 29-13 win over Kentucky. “That's extremely tough. But we felt like it was the right thing to do. We've not had the same five all six weeks. So we felt like everybody deserved a chance to play.

“This will be a really good measuring stick for the offensive line, to kind of see how we did against a really solid defensive line. Hopefully we'll be able to get some more continuity, so we don't have to have rotations.”

The starting five included left tackle Alec Jackson, left guard Tashawn Manning, center Nick Brahms, the only returning starter, right guard Brandon Council and right tackle Brodarious Hamm.

During the game, Keiondre Jones rotated in at right guard with Council moving to left guard, and Austin Troxell came in at left tackle. It gave those seven offensive linemen immediate SEC experience and also gave AU’s coaching staff including first-year offensive line coach Jack Bicknell Jr. an opportunity to evaluate the group further.

“I really liked how we got everybody in there for game experience,” Brahms said. “We know those guys can play in a game, and we trust them. So I think that's big for them. And for everybody, just working with different people, I really liked how we did tonight. We made some mistakes. Obviously we knew that was going to happen. Every game people make mistakes. We've just got to correct it and get back to it Sunday, correct those mistakes and get back to it at practice Tuesday.”

The production was mixed. Auburn rushed for just 91 yards on 30 carries, an average of 3.0 yards. In 27 pass attempts, Bo Nix was sacked once and hurried another four times. But Nix had enough time to complete nearly 60 percent of his passes for 233 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions.

“They did a really good job,” Nix said. “A lot of those guys, at least four of them, were rotating for the first time, getting kind of new experiences up there. We felt the whole entire time all they needed was just reps in a game and they’d feel it out themselves. They did a great job today being in the right spot. They were communicating with each other, and moving forward I’m really excited to see those guys continue to grow, continue to get better.

“The more reps they get, the better they will become, and just the more experience we have as a whole, I think those guys will keep getting better and better and continue to pass and run block really well.”

No. 7 Auburn returns to action next Saturday at No. 4 Georgia. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT on ESPN.