Frustrations mount as Nix, WRs can't get on same page

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Frustrations mount as Nix, WRs can't get on same page

By Tom Green | tgreen@al.com

5-6 minutes

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Chad Morris had to step in between Bo Nix and Seth Williams as Auburn’s quarterback and star receiver got into an impassioned exchange on the sideline during the third quarter at Williams-Brice Stadium.

Auburn’s first-year offensive coordinator found himself playing another role, that of mediator, as two of his star players barked at each other following another miscommunication that thwarted a Tigers drive. ESPN cameras caught the spat during Auburn’s 30-22 loss to South Carolina, with Williams eventually brushing off Nix, leaving Morris to try to calm down the exasperated sophomore quarterback.

It was a microcosm of Auburn’s issues in Columbia, S.C., as Nix and his receivers were unable to stay on the same page throughout the day. The result: Nix’s three interceptions, a plethora of dropped passes and a frustratingly inconsistent overall performance from Auburn’s offense again on the road.

“They love each other,” wide receiver Eli Stove said of Nix and Williams. “They have a love relationship — a love-hate relationship. They just want to win. Everybody just wants to win, but them two, for sure. They want to be on the same page at all times, know what’s going on. Definitely.”

Nix and Williams are often in sync in the passing game; they need to be for Auburn to be successful. After all, Williams has been Nix’s favorite target the last two seasons — dating back to Nix’s first career game against Oregon, when they hooked up for the game-winner in Arlington, Texas — and he was again on Saturday. Nix targeted Williams at least 13 times against South Carolina but completed just four of those passes for 74 yards as the junior receiver was shadowed all day by Gamecocks star corner Jaycee Horn.

Two of those passes were intercepted by Horn, while four others were broken up by the South Carolina standout, who proved to be the difference-maker Saturday.

“Y’all seen, they usually have a very good feel for each other,” Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said. “We’ll take a look at it on film. You’ve probably got to give their DB some credit too. But we’ll look at it and we need to correct it.”

Despite Horn blanketing Williams throughout the game, Nix kept going back to his No. 1 receiver—with little success. Some of the attempts were forced, though that may be because other receivers had their share of dropped passes when targeted by Nix, but the two just couldn’t get in sync all game.

Eventually, after a miscommunication on a third-and-4 attempt near the red zone forced Auburn to settle for a field goal and a 19-14 lead, frustrations boiled over for the two on the sideline. Neither Nix nor Williams were made available to the media after the game.

“They’re good,” Stove said. “You know, people want to win. You know, it’s a competition. So, he’s trying to tell — Seth’s trying to tell Bo something about what the DB is doing, and Bo’s trying to tell him what he saw. So, you know, it happens.”

Despite the spat, Nix continued to target Williams in the passing game and neither gave up. Williams was the target on Nix’s third interception of the day — and the second by Horn—two possessions later, with Nix being the one to prevent Horn from a potential pick-six. The two also connected on a short route across the field in the fourth quarter that Williams turned into a big gain but was ultimately called back due to holding after the catch.

“He still wanted to compete,” Stove said of Nix. “He didn’t go to the sideline and pout and all that stuff. He was still trying to make sure that everybody was locked in on the game and still wanted to get everything done the right way. It just didn’t turn out that way.”

As the duo’s connection struggled for the second straight week (Williams had four drops in the win against Arkansas), so did Auburn’s passing attack. Nix completed just 24-of-47 attempts for 272 yards, a touchdown to Stove and the three interceptions.

The fault didn’t lie solely with Nix. Malzahn said the sophomore needs to do better protecting the football but added that the receivers need to do their part to get on the same page as Nix. Stove echoed that after the game, pointing to the need for better communication among Nix and the receiving corps and the need for the receivers to “work on details” to eliminate minor mistakes.

“We’ve just got to clean it up in practice,” Stove said. “We need to communicate better…. We had a lot of good plays, but the bad plays were really bad. So, we’ve got to clean up.”

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.