Can Bo keep improving in Week 2?

[aubiefifty 17,488]

247sports.com

After near-perfect opener, how can Bo Nix keep improving in Week 2?

ByNathan King

5-6 minutes

AUBURN, Alabama — They’re certainly not overlooking Alabama State this weekend, but Bo Nix and his opponents were glad they got an opportunity to watch their Week 3 foe, Penn State, live in its first game.

In the hotel before heading over to Auburn for Tiger Walk, Nix said he was able to watch the beginning of the Nittany Lions’ win at Wisconsin and get some early scouting takeaways. Penn State won, 16-10, by forcing three turnovers but had less than 300 yards of total offense.

“A lot of offenses kind of get going and find their identity,” Nix said on his weekly appearance on The Next Round radio program in Birmingham. “A lot of defenses usually have it easier.”

Of course, that was not the case for Nix and Auburn. Their opponent had one of the worst defenses Auburn football has seen in recent years, but a few hours after watching Penn State, Nix and the Tigers’ offense obliterated Akron, 60-10 in the first win of the Bryan Harsin era on the Plains.

In the victory, Nix was nearly flawless, starting out hitting his first 11 passes and finishing 20-for-22, good for a new program record for completion percentage.

“85 (percent) is a goal I had set for the entire year,” Nix said.

Nix said he wasn’t paying attention to his unblemished start to the game, but by the second quarter or so, he realized he hadn’t missed a completion yet. He said, of course, he wants 100% completion percentage every game, but there was pressure relieved when he could stop focusing on his perfect start.

“When the first corner ball I threw — I missed — I was like 'All right, I can just play ball now,'” Nix said. “That was one I should have hit, so that was frustrating. But you can’t always play the game trying to go for perfect; anything can happen on any given play. You have to throw it away, and that counts as an incompletion. Just playing sharp and just playing ball was one of my focal points.”

Sure, 85 is a lofty number for Nix; it’s one he probably realizes is realistically unachievable. The junior has yet to complete at least 60% of his passes in either of his two seasons as Auburn’s starting quarterback.

But he’s aiming high as the leader of Harsin’s offense, in which Nix says he feels as comfortable as he’s ever been. Throws were on time, pocket presence was solid and execution was, generally, top notch against Akron. Surely, with a middle-to-low-tier FCS team coming to town this weekend, none of that will change for Auburn’s passing game.

And adjustments were made as the night progressed, according to Nix’s receivers. Even after touchdown drives, the QB was finding his pass-catchers on the sideline and working through possible miscommunications or blips in execution — on his part or the receivers’.

“I feel like if (Nix) makes a mistake, he can come back and fix it the next time,” senior receiver Demetris Robertson said Tuesday. “That's the type of guy you want as a quarterback and also a great leader for our program."

For Nix and the rest of coordinator Mike Bobo’s offense — and the team overall, for that matter — Harsin wants another blank slate this week. It’s his whole mantra, of course, to go 1-0 each week. He allowed his players to celebrate and relish in a well-rounded win Saturday night and into Sunday. But once Sunday night film study came around, there was no more back-patting.

“… Everybody to stay focused on the things we need to do and not get caught up in all the hype that goes along with as the season begins and wins and losses and all that,” Harsin said this week. “Just trying to be as consistent as possible and also staying focused on the things that matter.”

That includes Nix. On the surface, there don’t appear to be many mistakes to correct on film from Auburn’s first-team passing game. But the coaches will find plenty.

For Nix, another tune-up game against Alabama State will be about showing that his season-opening performance wasn’t a fluke, and that this truly could be the year everything clicks for the former five-star recruit. He’ll be thinking about 85%, and trying to elevate the offense as a whole the “national-stage game” at Penn State, as he called it.

Alabama State’s defense shouldn’t give Nix many problems in the pocket once again. And when he has time to dissect a defense, his teammates said, he’s capable of being one of the SEC’s best passers.

“Bo showed what he could do; Bo's been doing that,” running back Tank Bigsby said after the game. “He's always been a great player. With the O-line just blocking and doing what they had to do to give him time to throw — you know, Bo's been doing that. It was no surprise to us. We've seen what he's capable of doing. There's gonna be a lot of that this year.”

5COMMENTS

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[cole256 17,085]

I feel like this may be the most pointless article ever written.

[Hank2020 3,233]

23 minutes ago, cole256 said:

I feel like this may be the most pointless article ever written.

Nope, that would be one from Goodman!!

[W.E.D 11,070]

36 minutes ago, cole256 said:

I feel like this may be the most pointless article ever written.

There aren't many good articles ever written by beat writers or the recruiting site.  They just recycle quotes from an interview for the next 4 days and add nonsensical word jumbles around them.

1 hour ago, aubiefifty said:

“When the first corner ball I threw — I missed — I was like 'All right, I can just play ball now,'” Nix said. “That was one I should have hit, so that was frustrating. But you can’t always play the game trying to go for perfect; anything can happen on any given play. You have to throw it away, and that counts as an incompletion. Just playing sharp and just playing ball was one of my focal points.”

I was hoping to see a replay of this throw, but I haven't been able to find it.  I was a few DDH ipas in at this point and don't remember seeing a replay on TV.  Rollout to the right, seemed like a lot of ppl on the screen...but couldn't tell if Bo had a good window and sailed the pass or if it was tight coverage.  I'd guess the former b/c there was no tight coverage all night, but I guess Bo confirms it that it was a makeable throw.

[cole256 17,085]

I think we all agree that Bo as a true freshman with no experience at all would shine against Alabama st.

I myself personally would say if Bo had a horrible game something was going on or chalk it up to a bad day. But still if he threw 3 interceptions and no td's I still wouldn't be alarmed. That's how far ahead the two teams are. I think if anybody takes anything from us playing Alabama st.....I mean that's just my opinion I'm sure some will say that's proof about something....but we are auburn. Playing Alabama st isn't a challenge for us.

[Hank2020 3,233]

10 minutes ago, cole256 said:

I think we all agree that Bo as a true freshman with no experience at all would shine against Alabama st.

I myself personally would say if Bo had a horrible game something was going on or chalk it up to a bad day. But still if he threw 3 interceptions and no td's I still wouldn't be alarmed. That's how far ahead the two teams are. I think if anybody takes anything from us playing Alabama st.....I mean that's just my opinion I'm sure some will say that's proof about something....but we are auburn. Playing Alabama st isn't a challenge for us.

I agree about the overall outcome. But I also think that another game (albeit a team in a lower division) with similar outcome as first game would indicate that he is “getting” what Bobo wants him to “get” (much like practice or a spring game which we all know is designed for them to look good for us fans). We make many assumptions of capability and improvements based on those takes.

[shabby 1,958]

Bo's Level of play I imagine will come down to the amount of protection he receives. I sincerely hope that he does better under pressure than he did last year. Hopefully the schemes are there to throw quickly when under pressure (which I imagine will be often against Penn State).