Nix’s stellar road performance

[aubiefifty 17,478]

Bo Nix’s stellar road performance guides Auburn past No. 17 Arkansas

By Tom Green | tgreen@al.com

5-6 minutes

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Bo Nix’s future as Auburn’s starting quarterback felt tenuous three short weeks ago.

The junior was benched in the second half against Georgia State, relegated to sideline spectator as backup T.J. Finley manned a come-from-behind win and sparked a weeklong quarterback controversy on the Plains. Oh, how things change.

Since his benching Sept. 25 at home, Nix has responded in impressive fashion, stringing together three strong performances heading into the bye week — the most recent of which was easily the best of his career on the road and against a ranked opponent. Nix completed 21-of-26 passes for 292 yards and three total touchdowns as Auburn knocked off No. 17 Arkansas, 38-23, Saturday afternoon in Fayetteville, Ark.

“Nothing really has changed; I’m the same player,” Nix said. “I come in just focused every day, ready to have a good day and just compete. I think at the end of the day, competing is just the major — I think that’s the major factor in my game.”

Nix’s showing against Arkansas led Auburn to its sixth straight win in the series—a needed win for the Tigers after losing their first two outings against ranked opponents this season—and it served as, perhaps, the best individual effort of the third-year starter’s career.

Nix’s struggles both on the road and against ranked opponents have been well-documented throughout his career. He entered the season with a 54.5 percent career completion rate in nine true road games, with more interceptions (10) than touchdowns (nine) and a yards-per-pass attempt average of 5.65.

An early-season loss at Penn State, when he played well but still completed just 21-of-37 passes for 185 yards, did little to rewrite the book on Nix. But he gutted out a tough road win at LSU two weeks ago, just a week removed from his benching against Georgia State, and followed it up with a solid performance against Georgia marred by dropped passes.

Everything came together seamlessly against Arkansas. He opened the game 6-of-6 passing for 72 yards and a touchdown on Auburn’s opening possession, the Tigers’ first touchdown on an opening drive against an SEC opponent since 2019. He completed passes to 10 different receivers and finished with a 192.8 quarterback rating, his second-best on the road in his career.

“Everyone can get a piece of the cake,” wide receiver Demetris Robertson said.

Nix’s lone mistake of the day came late in the first half, when Auburn tried to be aggressive with its play calling before halftime and Nix threw an interception down the left sideline on a double-move by Ze’Vian Capers. That nearly swung the game for Arkansas, which took advantage of the middle eight minutes of the game to score 14 consecutive points to take the lead.

But Nix and Auburn answered. The Tigers reclaimed the lead on a defensive touchdown, and then following a fourth-down stop by the defense, Nix found Robertson for a 71-yard touchdown on the first snap after the change of possession. That gave Auburn a 28-17 lead with 4:16 to go in the third.

Nix then sealed the game in the fourth quarter, as Auburn put together a methodical 12-play, 75-yard scoring drive that sapped 6:11 off the clock. On that drive, Nix completed 3-of-3 passes for 37 yards. He also converted a crucial third down on a quarterback sweep off a fake reverse, and then he eradicated Arkansas’ hopes with a 23-yard touchdown run on a draw out of an empty set to push Auburn’s lead to 15 with 2:30 to play.

“He’s a competitor, so that’s something I would expect out of him, just coming out and leading those guys,” edge defender Derick Hall said. “… He wants to win, and that’s shown up in the last three weeks. He’s going to keep growing and keep getting better, and that’s just, like I said, that’s our quarterback, and we stand behind him 100 percent.”

Since that second half against Georgia State, Nix has completed 65-of-108 of his passes for 764 yards while accounting for five total touchdowns and leading Auburn to its two biggest wins of the season against LSU and now 17th-ranked Arkansas.

Not much may have changed for Nix in the last three weeks, but it certainly seems as though his second-half benching lit a competitive fire underneath him that has produced some of his best football to date.

“When I go out there and compete and desire the ball and want the ball at the end of the game like today, that’s when I’m just at my best,” Nix said. “And I think our team as a whole would obviously agree.”

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