How do you fix Nix?

[aubiefifty 18,222]

How do you fix Nix, turn Auburn offense into passing threat?

Updated 7:30 AM;Today 6:26 AM

5-6 minutes

If we’re talking Bo Nix and why this supremely talented freshman quarterback is having such a hard time completing passes, your guess is as good as mine.

Think I know, but how many times can you say Gus Malzahn is not helping Nix' development and play calling?

What Malzahn does really, really well is dial up confusion. He’s at his best with his playbook of eye candy, misdirection stuff that gives defensive coordinators fits. But Nix might be better served if Malzahn believed Nix can look over the defense, read the coverage and work through his progressions like a Joe Burrow, who may not have an equal in the SEC and that includes anyone in Tuscaloosa and Athens. Nix is no Burrow, but he's got next-level talent.

Yet Nix is last in pass completion percentage in the conference and the Tigers are ranked 107th in the nation in passing. Auburn has the defense, the kicking game and November home schedule to go 10-2, but it won't until Malzahn figures out how to turn Nix into a passing threat.

The NCAA stat line says last season's Alabama Mr. Football is completing 53.9 percent of his throws. That ranks 104th in the country. Arkansas' Nick Starkel is better (55.0). Mississippi State's Garrett Shrader is better (55.1). Vanderbilt's Riley Neal is better (58.2).

In road losses at Florida and LSU, Nix combined to hit 41.9 percent of his passes and threw two touchdowns with four interceptions.

It's not like Nix is hurting for receivers. They're not the most dangerous group in the SEC, but 6-3 Seth Williams and 6-5 Sal Cannella are big targets and Anthony Schwartz, Eli Stove and Will Hastings can turn a swing pass or slant into a first down and then some.

No. 11 Auburn (6-2) is a 19-point favorite to take care of Ole Miss (3-5) Saturday night in Jordan-Hare Stadium. The Tigers should win the game but winning with Nix firing lights out would be so much better with Georgia and Alabama down the road.

The Tigers have a championship defense but when it's on the field for 88 plays at LSU, in a game Auburn was in until the final seconds, making first downs would have made a difference.

For a Malzahn offense that leans heavily on the run, four rushing first downs at LSU isn’t getting your $49 million worth.

The passing game would have made all the difference.

This week's picks:

Ole Miss vs. Auburn

The Rebels are finally bowl eligible, but it's unlikely they'll go bowling this year barring a couple of monster upsets. At 3-5, they’re going to look back at what could have been. Losing by five to Memphis, by eight to California, by seven to Texas A&M.

Upsetting Auburn or No. 1 LSU would change the postseason math with New Mexico State (0-8) and Mississippi State (3-5) still to play. Are they an upset threat this weekend?

The defense under first-year coordinator Mike MacIntyre could be a problem for Nix and Co. This is not the Ole Miss defense of the last couple years that ranked at the bottom of the SEC. The offense, with freshman quarterbacks John Rhys Plumlee and Matt Corral rotating, is to be taken seriously, averaging 433 yards a game. If Auburn isn't over what could have been in Baton Rouge the Rebels are going to be trouble.

Auburn 27, Ole Miss 13

UAB vs. Tennessee

We really don’t know how good 6-1 UAB is going into November and its toughest stretch. The six wins are nice but the competition has been lousy. The wins have come against six opponents that have a combined record of 8-38. Two opponents, Akron and Rice, have yet to win a game.

Western Kentucky, which defeated UAB 20-13 at the end of September, is the only opponent with a winning record (5-3). If 10-point underdog UAB is going to beat the 3-5 Vols, the first Power 5 team it's faced since last year's 41-20 loss at Texas A&M, quarterback Tyler Johnston can't turn the ball over -- he's thrown nine picks and 10 touchdowns -- and the running game has to look like a running game.

Power back Spencer Brown, who has missed almost three games with a leg injury, would be the answer but he’s not expected to play. Lucious Stanley and Jermaine Brown have filled in nicely, but the Vols can handle those two.

UAB's defense has been solid, giving up 15.7 points per game and has yet to allow more than 20 points. The kicking game is a weapon. But the Blazers need Tennessee off its South Carolina game, a 41-21 rout last week, the team’s biggest victory since upsetting Auburn last season in Jordan-Hare. Win or lose, UAB takes home a $1.55 million check.

Tennessee 27, UAB 23

In the SEC

Georgia 30, Florida 27

South Carolina 28, Vanderbilt 21

Texas A&M 40, Texas-San Antonio 20

Surprises

Washington 27, No. 9 Utah 21

6 1/2-point underdog Arkansas 31, Mississippi State 27

Other games

Oregon 27, USC 24

Notre Dame 30, Virginia Tech 21

Memphis 35, SMU 31

Michigan 35, Maryland 17

Troy 38, Coastal Carolina 31

Wake Forest 31, NC State 23

Kansas State 37, Kansas 17

Boise State 38, San Jose State 28

Boston College 28, Syracuse 24

Air Force 30, Army 27

Florida State 27, Miami 24

Central Florida 40, Houston 35

Oklahoma State 31, TCU 27

Last week: 13-7

Season: 130-50

Charles Hollis has covered college football since 1983. Reach him at budcoin@msn.com

[bigbird 60,939]

GROG

[auburnphan 6,050]

3 minutes ago, bigbird said:

GROG

Thread solved.

[aubiefifty 18,222]

what does grog mean?

[Eagle-1 3,821]

Get Rid Of Gus would be my guess.

[Eagle-1 3,821]

GROG. Sounds like an excellent idea for a new T shirt

[SuperAUsome09 749]

5 minutes ago, Eagle-1 said:

Get Rid Of Gus would be my guess.

Also refers to an alcoholic drink. Both are fitting though! One solves the problem entirely. The other just makes everything blurry to where you can't see how bad it is.

[auburnphan 6,050]

And I was foggy rather groggy, get me away from the bus

[augolf1716 21,962]

[AUApostle 7,758]

Some of the NIMBY's in our city have created an alliance of neighborhood associations to fight growth, density, and cutting down of oak trees.  It seems to have had success on a number of issues.  Could AUFamily make a formal statement on where it stands with Gus?  Could we join other online communities to create an alliance that demands action and justice for what has transpired within Auburn football since 2015?

[ShocksMyBrain 9,666]

9 minutes ago, auburnphan said:

And I was foggy rather groggy, get me away from the bus

[BJCrawford 1,568]

I don’t disagree with GROG but the timing would have been better last year when Tennessee and Miss state happened.  I think patience (I know I know) is needed until he loses to a team that does not have a single digit by their name (ala Oklahoma, Georgia, Notre dame).   Please don’t blast me, I’m not taking up for anything or saying rah rah for continuity..I saw the LSU game Saturday and it was painful, BUT would most agree nothing can be done before the end of the year without us looking a little silly? Guess I think it has to play out and I just want to enjoy what’s left of the season. This horse has been beat to death!😊but hey, basketball starts today!

[Tigerpro2a 5,650]

I know this isn't happening....but at this point, this would be what I would do on Offense. I would be done with the Wing T crap for the most part. I would put Bo in a position to maximize the usage of weapons around him. I would go 4 Wide with Seth, Anthony, Sal and the Hastings/Hill/Williams/Joiner. I would have DJ/Boobee (when healthy) and Worm coming in at RB. I would stop with the predetermined reads. I would run a full spread and let Bo be a gunslinger. I think a big part of Bo's issues are mental, not wanting to make a mistake. Pat let him sling it in High school. If he threw a pick he threw a pick. I think Gus is so paranoid of TO's that he only gives Bo one read if any. Bo needs an offense where he can be a gunslinger. I don't mean we have to abandon the run. we could still keep it 50/50 but have Sal/Wilson in and shift them in and out of the backfield for an extra blocker when needed. Have all your weapons on the field at the same time. Run Slants,drags, hitches, and outs and Deep crossing routes, digs, etc. I know alot of these routes are foreign to Gus but let Dilly show him what they are. I don't think Bo is ever going to be Joe Burrow accurate. I think he can be a 60%+ passer though and I think he could put up massive numbers with the weapons we have if we could only utilize them properly and have a decent passing scheme and concepts. 

[cole256 17,085]

To fix him first you have to admit there's a problem, many still pretend it's Gus holding him back, and maybe so with the set up of the game, but make no mistake about it, there are routes ran in the middle of the field that Bo's confidence is messed up because he won't throw them. Guys wide open. 

Two things that need to happen is he needs to get his confidence up and he needs to be disciplined and work on his fundamentals.....every single throw

[SuperAUsome09 749]

14 minutes ago, cole256 said:

To fix him first you have to admit there's a problem, many still pretend it's Gus holding him back, and maybe so with the set up of the game, but make no mistake about it, there are routes ran in the middle of the field that Bo's confidence is messed up because he won't throw them. Guys wide open. 

Two things that need to happen is he needs to get his confidence up and he needs to be disciplined and work on his fundamentals.....every single throw

Not being sarcastic, just an honest question. Do you think the middle of the field "blindness" is because those routes are not considered viable to our young QB/offensive play calling? Or more so to the fact that the WR is locked before the snap as the "only option" for this play?

[Gowebb11 9,870]

First: @bigbird is right GROG. That aside, everyone writing about Bo references his UF/LSU lines only. In our 6 wins he’s at 59% with 10 TDs and 2 picks. He’s 2-2 vs ranked opponents. And both of those wins were away from home.  When he’s been bad it’s been bad. He can improve in a lot of areas, but he has shown a lot of flashes of why the hype around him. But it has been years since a true freshman started a season opener in the SEC, and I bet the few who have hasn’t faced a schedule like Bo has. So for me it’s not do we fix him, rather how different might he look if we GROG. 

[cole256 17,085]

7 minutes ago, SuperAUsome09 said:

Not being sarcastic, just an honest question. Do you think the middle of the field "blindness" is because those routes are not considered viable to our young QB/offensive play calling? Or more so to the fact that the WR is locked before the snap as the "only option" for this play?

I think different plays different situations. I have seen him be locked on his first read. I've also seen him, wait too long to throw it, I've seen him see it at least I think he saw it but he passed on making the throw because he didn't have the confidence. 

[Tiger 8,854]

I've seen enough of all Gus' QBs to know that, while Bo is without question part of his own problem right now, Gus is the common denominator here when it comes to poor QB play spanning 9 years. 

He had some good plays where he's gone through is progressions and made key 3rd down conversions. Then he also has plays where he locks in on someone and throws a bad ball. The worrisome part is that the older the season gets the younger he seems to look as a QB. Some of it is definitely the level of competition. Some of it, IMO, is Gus. He hasn't had a single QB improve under him.

[cole256 17,085]

Numbers of course can be skewed. Pretty much against any team that has a defense that breathes he struggles a bit. But like most if the run game is working he plays well.

I've watched every game so far and pretty much every game he will make 1-2 throws that says wow but overall he's not consistent. Even the games we kill people Bo willmiss a wide open guy or over throw completely. That has been his consistent play. Make pretending his doing ok is what got him in this position. 

[I_M4_AU 8,933]

6 minutes ago, cole256 said:

Numbers of course can be skewed. Pretty much against any team that has a defense that breathes he struggles a bit. But like most if the run game is working he plays well.

I've watched every game so far and pretty much every game he will make 1-2 throws that says wow but overall he's not consistent. Even the games we kill people Bo willmiss a wide open guy or over throw completely. That has been his consistent play. Make pretending his doing ok is what got him in this position. 

It does seem Bo loses focus during the games and this shows up in his inconsistency.  Would it help if his QB coach was on the sidelines rather than in the booth?  No need for Dilly to be in the booth as Gus is going to call what he is going to call.  A little face to face with his position coach would help I would think.

[Sizzle 3,948]

Accuracy isn’t really something you fix. Your completion percentage can improve with easier throws but some guys just have that gift of accuracy. Bo had a bad completion percentage in HS too right?

[cole256 17,085]

2 minutes ago, Sizzle said:

Accuracy isn’t really something you fix. Your completion percentage can improve with easier throws but some guys just have that gift of accuracy. Bo had a bad completion percentage in HS too right?

With how bad his footwork tends to be I can't help but to think it can be fixed. But I've seen quite a few QB's improve their accuracy throwing the ball

[WarTim 3,524]

Bo will improve with experience. 

[bigbird 60,939]

6 minutes ago, WarTim said:

Bo will improve with experience. 

I wish the same could be said about another

[doverstutts 1,643]

2 hours ago, BJCrawford said:

hey, basketball starts today!