Here we go again! Lots of talk about Bo Nix, the true freshman---first freshman QB to start for Auburn since the legendary Travis Tidwell in 1946. Lots of talk about what this game means for the PAC 12. You'd almost think those west coast teams have in inferiority complex vs. the SEC.
The key for the offense is to be able to run the football to help Nix develop the passing game. I am skeptical. Lots of talk about Boobee. I'll believe it when I see it. Run to set up the pass. Gus Malzahn football.
The defense needs help from the offense or it will eventually wear down. Like most football games it will be won in the trenches. Which lines will dominate?
From AT and T Stadium in Arlington the game begins at 6:30 on ABC.
FIRST QUARTER
Oregon wins the toss and receives. They want their QB Justin Herbert to handle the ball first.
The Ducks march right down the field passing.
There is a 47-yrd. completion to the 3 yard line, the big play in the drive.
We move to third and four after a loss.
Their QB rolls right and dives to the end zone. The call on the field is touchdown but the play is reviewed. The TD call is reversed, knee down at the half yard line.
Run over left side for the score. Our defense was not ready on the snap. Our defense was looking at the sidelines for the defensive call when Oregon snapped the ball.
The Ducks start with an impressive drive with a moving pocket and short passes but with a 47 yarder to inside the give to set up the score.
Auburn 0 Oregon 7
Well. Nothing like a freshman QB coming out for the first time already trailing.
Auburn starts first and 10 after the touchback on the kickoff.
Shivers runs for three and but then going quickly our right tackle moves early.
The Tigers go three and out. Our offense cannot move the football.
Good punt return and Oregon starts on our 45. Not a good start for Auburn.
As in the initial drive Oregon is moving the ball easily on quick passes.
Quick passes and half rolls.
The Ducks move to third and goal from the two. We are getting badly outplayed.
More finesse it seems to me than physical but Oregon is totally dominating.
Incomplete pass to the back of the end zone. Open receiver but he cannot come down with it.
The chip shot FG attempt is NO GOOD.
Marlon Davidson limps off the field.
Can our offense come to life now?
First down and a 37 yard completion to Hastings.
Next play Nix runs for 20 yards.
Virtual no gain for Whitlow.
We move to third and nine.
Incomplete and we move to fourth and nine.
The 40 yard field goal is good by Carlson.
Auburn 3 Oregon 7
It wasn't a touchdown, but at least we respond.
First down long running play plus a face guard.
Just like that Oregon is on the Auburn 23.
Second play TD pass into the end zone. A tall Duck receiver out jumps our defender.
This is not going well.
Auburn 3 Oregon 14
Oh, my. It looks we are playing a better team.
Auburn starts from the 20.
The quarter ends with Auburn on the move.
SECOND QUARTER.
If this game is to be a shoot-out, I don't like it.
The quarter begins with Auburn on the Duck 44.
First down by Whitlow to the Duck 40.
A wheel route to Joiner 28 yards to the 12.
On second down Nix throws the interception. Oh, no.
An interception in the red zone. Not good.
Nix and Williams couldn't connect.
Oregon begins on their 12 after the takeaway.
The Oregon offensive line is having their way with our defensive front.
Finally we get a stop from their 33.
After a bad block in the back call on the punt Auburn begins backed up on our 13.
The Tigers move to their 41 but have to punt from there.
There is huge punt return to the Auburn 9.
First play from the nine their QB fumbles and Big Cat Bryan picks it up and rambles to the Duck three yard line!
Stove loses one to the four.
Nix fumbles the snap but luckily falls on the ball. Oh, my goodness!
Now it's third and goal from the seven.
Incomplete pass into the end zone.
First and goal from the three and we have to kick the field goal.
Auburn 6 Oregon 14
Sounds familiar. We have to settle for two field goals so far.
Still I like what we see from Bo Nix. He is going to be a good one.
On their next possession Oregon punts from their 20.
Auburn begins on their 25. Oregon has a good punter.
From our 45 Nix floats an interception. Oregon regains possession on their 25.
1:34 to go.
The Ducks quickly go three and out and they are punting with 1:07 left.
Big punt return by Tutt and a late hit to boot and AU is on the Duck 26 yard line with two time outs left.
First down incompletion.
47 seconds left.
Second down incompletion.
Nix scrambles to the 13.
Next play Nix is dropped at the 21.
24 second left.
Williams is dropped at the 25.
Auburn takes their last time out.
19 seconds left.
Third down with a first down possible at the three.
Incompletion to Seth Williams in the end zone.
FG attempt is wide right.
Another offensive failure.
This game is going exactly as I thought it would with our offense not being able to produce as the previous years just like last year. We've had our chances but the offense has not changed in not being able to produce in the Red Zone.
The Tigers trail 14 to 6 at the half. Auburn receives coming out.
THIRD QUARTER
Auburn receives, goes three and out, an after another good punt return the Ducks start almost at midfield. Like they started the game, the Ducks move impressively for the score mixing short passes, a moving quarterback, and just enough running. The score comes on a run from the six.
Auburn 6 Oregon 21
It will take a monumental turnaround to win this game.
The offense punts after one first down. Kam Martin doesn't make a difference. There is absolutely no rhythm to our offense. The offense looks helpless. Looks familiar. Still I like Bo Nix.
Oregon goes three and out helped by a grounding penalty.
After the punt we start at our 43. Is there any hope left?
Finally! Stove jet sweeps to the 10. Next play TD pass to a lightly covered Stove. Touchdown!
Auburn 13 Oregon 21
Our defense holds again. The punt booms into the end zone.
The quarter ends with Auburn on their 39. We have the momentum going into the fourth.
FOURTH QUARTER
No gain on third down attempting a reverse to Shivers. We have to punt. Oregon on their 19.
Oregon punts from their 24. Big stop for the defense.
Tutt returns the punt to the AU 31.
Auburn moves the football. Whitlow takes the offense on his back. Three big runs with the last one taking the ball inside the one with 9:57 to go. Whitlow is down with an injury timeout. Big turnaround by the offense, now wearing down the Oregon defense.
From inside the one Gatewood comes in on the short wildcat. I am screaming DON'T FUMBLE JOEY! Gatewood dives to the end zone extending the ball. Risky, but touchdown!
Alas, we get a procedure call on the 2 point attempt and settle for the one.
Auburn 20 Oregon 21
We have a ballgame.
Auburn gets a dramatic 4th and one stop at our 42 but our offense goes three and out.
We move to Oregon third and fourteen from their 24.
Oregon punts from their 30 with 2:21 left.
Poor punt goes OOB at the Auburn 40 with still over 2 minutes left.
Bo Nix has a chance to be a hero in his first game.
We move to 4th and three with 1:28 left. Nix carries for a measurement. First down Auburn at midfield!
31 seconds left. Third and one from the Oregon 41. Still need to closer for a FG attempt.
First down from the 38. Nix spikes the ball.
incompletion with 21 seconds left.
First down completion to Williams at the 26.
Touchdown Auburn! Nix to Seth Williams at the goal line and into the end zone!
Bo Nix just entered Auburn legendary status.
We get a 15 yard celebration penalty on the kickoff.
Oregon returns to the Auburn 35 with 3 seconds left.
Their last pass goes way out of the back of the end zone!!!
Auburn wins a thrilling, thrilling, thrilling come from behind football game.
Wow, just wow! This one will be talked about in Auburn lore forever.
Finally, we got ourselves a quarterback!
Auburn 27 Oregon 21
Saturday, August 31, 2019
Here We Go!
Fast track: Auburn will not slow down with Bo Nix against Oregon
AUBURN, Alabama — Bo Nix may play in bigger games, but Saturday is as big as they get for now.
The true freshman quarterback will lead Auburn on the field in the marquee matchup of Week 1 in college football. It’s No. 16 Auburn against No. 11 Oregon, a matchup of Pac-12 powerhouses looking to make an early impact on the national stage as they both eye championships.
Auburn has veterans across the field. Four returning starters on the defensive line, all five starters returning on the offensive line are seniors and both safeties are back, too. But the spotlight will not shine any brighter on anyone else than Nix, the first true freshman quarterback to start a season opener for Auburn since 1946.
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“It’s as big as it gets,” Malzahn said. “We need to be really good around him. That's really been our message. I'm just asking him to play and to be himself, and we're going to try to do some things he feels comfortable with.”
Malzahn has stated since the day he named Nix the starting quarterback Aug. 20 that the Tigers must be better around Nix. Receivers have to catch difficult passes. Running backs have to pick up extra yardage. The tackles have to keep Nix clean.
One could interpret Malzahn’s approach as conservative. Is he already ditching the return of the warp-speed, hurry-up no-huddle offense after only one game (the Music City Bowl) calling plays after a three-year break from coordinator duties?
"I wouldn't say that,” Malzahn said. “I don't think, against one of the top teams in the country, that you can just be conservative. I think there's a fine line between trying to put him in comfortable situations. That's probably the best way to put it; to put him in comfortable situations. But, you know, we're going to have to be balanced to have a chance to win against one of the top teams in the country. I wouldn't take that as conservative. That probably isn't the best word to use."
Oregon counters with an experienced offense led by future first-round NFL draft pick Justin Herbert, who threw for 3,151 yards and 29 touchdowns last season despite his receivers dropping 52 passes. He has all the intangibles and superlatives to back up his list of credentials. He enters the night with the nation’s best stretch of touchdown passes (28 straight games).
Nix will, without doubt, will be compared to the future pro throughout the game and television broadcast scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. CT on ABC.
“For his age, he does not play like an 18-year old kid,” Auburn right tackle Jack Driscoll said. “He really took control during camp. And really, Joey (Gatewood) did, too, but for a freshman to come in mid-year, he was confident. We just told him, you’ve really got to be a leader despite what age you are, you’re the quarterback and you’ve got to make sure we’re all on the same page and what-not.”
Interestingly, Nix is two months older than Gatewood, a redshirt freshman. Nix also has the benefit of being coached by his father, Patrick Nix, throughout his life. The former Auburn quarterback was a college offensive coordinator at Georgia Tech and Miami, and later the head coach at Pinson Valley, where father and son led the football program to back-to-back state titles.
Simply put, not many quarterbacks have the same pedigree.
“He's level-headed,” Auburn receiver Will Hastings said. “He doesn't change, doesn't let the hype get to him, which is the best thing anybody can do. He's a good dude. He's going to keep it steady, fast and ready to go.”
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Bo Nix owns the state of Alabama’s records for total offense in a career (12,505 yards) and touchdowns (161), including 127 scores through the air. He earned practically every in-state award you can imagine while also picking up a 5-star rating from the 247Sports Composite and the state of Alabama's Mr. Football award.
“I’ve seen him play in high school – he’s a great football player now,” Oregon coach Mario Cristobaltold reporters this week. “He does it with his arm, he does it with his feet. As a competitor he’s one of those guys that he fights for every single inch on the field. Watching him in high school, tremendous command of the offense, a field general. A tremendous amount of respect for him as a player. He’s a great system fit so we have to be prepared for a guy playing great football.”
Patrick Nix plans to catch a flight to Dallas on Saturday morning to watch his son play inside AT&T Stadium. The Auburn legend is forever tied to several big moments in Auburn history, but perhaps none bigger than his pass to Frank Sanders to knock off No. 1 Florida in The Swamp.
But standing among the fans and watching his son against Oregon might be just as big of a moment for Patrick.
“I absolutely fully expect for it to be fairly emotional for me, for all of us,” Patrick Nix said on The Paul Finebaum Show this week. “You think about my dad. I get emotional thinking about it. You think about my dad, all that he's been through also (as a former coach). He remembers back to when I was playing when he was there, and now he's been with a grandson to watch him play. It's pretty special. There's no doubt it's pretty special for all of us. To be able to do this, not only is Bo getting to start as a true freshman, first game in college football, but it's even more special it's in Auburn, for our family. There's no doubt there's a lot of reasons to be emotional, to be passionate about it, to be proud and thankful for what God has given us.”
Will Bo Nix step up? He’s ready, teammates and coaches say. The true freshman gets his chance to prove it tonight in a game filled with storylines and connections to the past. Auburn and Oregon have met only once before, and Bo Nix was at that game, too. The 10-year-old rushed to the front of the stands at the BCS National Championship in January 2011 to celebrate the national title with Daren Bates in the crowd. Nix wore a Cam Newton jersey.
1COMMENTS
Today he’ll wear No. 10, the same number as his dad.
“Growing up he taught me how to never let the moment get too big,” Bo Nix said. “You’re prepared for any moment you step into. You’ll only get better and better. He just did a really good job of allowing me to be myself, and he reminded me of the strengths that I had and how to use those strengths. But overall, he was always there for me. He always pushed me to be a better player. And he’s really helped me get to where I am today.”
Friday, August 30, 2019
New Season Begins Tomorrow
Auburn vs. Oregon in AT & T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, home of the Dallas Cowboys. Some years we start with a game we are supposed to win; some years like this, a name opponent, a challenge. From what I can see, Auburn is a 3/3.5 point favorite.
So much of the talk is about Bo Nix. Auburn is starting a true freshman at QB for the first time since 1946. I have long predicted that he would be the starter, that he is the real deal. I hope he's enough on a big stage for us to win the game.
Oregon is supposed to be good with a senior QB and a good defense. My hope is that an SEC team is better than a PAC-12 team and we play like it. Who knows the day before.
So much of the talk is about Bo Nix. Auburn is starting a true freshman at QB for the first time since 1946. I have long predicted that he would be the starter, that he is the real deal. I hope he's enough on a big stage for us to win the game.
Oregon is supposed to be good with a senior QB and a good defense. My hope is that an SEC team is better than a PAC-12 team and we play like it. Who knows the day before.
Saturday, August 17, 2019
Ted Williams
I watched a PBS documentary about Ted Williams. A few interesting facts:
- Remarkably, Ted hit .388 in 1957, when he was thirty-nine years old.
- In his Hall of Fame speech in 1966, he hoped that black players like Satchel Paige would get the recognition they deserved. He was on the correct side of civil rights. His maternal Mexican heritage helps explain this.
- He was an avid fisherman. He was inducted into the International Game Fish Association's Fishing Hall of Fame in 2000. As such, he's one of only three athletes to be inducted into two professional halls of fame (the others are Jim Brown and Carl Hubbard).
Toward Oregon
I'm thinking that as a new football season beckons that we hope to have a stout defense. That's good. We need a good defense since we have haven't had a steady offense since 2014. I am skeptical about the offense based on the last several years.
The QB starter has not been announced. It may not matter that much to start with since both QB candidates are expected to play. I predicted last Fall that Nix would be the man, and I stick with that thought.
We have an experienced offensive line, but just how good are they going against a tough 12 game schedule? I do not know.
I read that Boobee Whitlow is improved and that Cadillac Williams is doing some good coaching. I'll believe it when I see it. Running back by committee may be necessary.
The offense must be markedly better to take the pressure off the defense. We face the same issue we've faced since 2015 when Jeremy Johson was a flop.
The QB starter has not been announced. It may not matter that much to start with since both QB candidates are expected to play. I predicted last Fall that Nix would be the man, and I stick with that thought.
We have an experienced offensive line, but just how good are they going against a tough 12 game schedule? I do not know.
I read that Boobee Whitlow is improved and that Cadillac Williams is doing some good coaching. I'll believe it when I see it. Running back by committee may be necessary.
The offense must be markedly better to take the pressure off the defense. We face the same issue we've faced since 2015 when Jeremy Johson was a flop.
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