Auburn made their run and closed it to 21-20 early in the fourth quarter. Auburn's depth and superiority on the line of scrimmage gave the team this chance to overcome the coaching on both sides of the ball. Gus Malzahn was predictably predictable and Kevin Steele as well. A Kevin Steele Auburn defense can stop the run but always struggles against a decent passing game. Luckily for him Oregon got a little more conservative and needed to run some time off the clock. Auburn stiffened against the run and Justin Herbert cooled off. This was actually the major reason Auburn had a chance to win the game.
It did not come easy though. It looked like Auburn was on a roll that would get them ahead well before the end after making it 21-20. They even got help from Oregon when head coach Mario Cristobal got too emotional and completely dumbed it up. The Ducks went for a 4th and 1 against an Auburn defense that had completely smothered them most of the second half. It was an absolutely boneheaded call. Auburn's offense definitely was not on track and the smart move would be to kick and hopefully pin the Tigers deep making them go the length of the field Oregon went for it and Auburn stopped them. The stop did not make as big of an impact because Oregon then stuffed Auburn on the next series but it added to Auburn's growing momentum and confidence.
The Auburn defense stopped Oregon again and the Tigers got the ball back with two minutes left on its own 40 yard line. It was do or die time. Bo Nix had not looked good. He had thrown a lot of bad balls including two interceptions. Many of his passes looked like high school balls with too much air and not enough zip. He looked like a true freshman in many ways but in other ways he did not. I sensed a little of it just watching A-Day. I remarked to a friend that you could sense his presence, he had that "it" factor. You saw it last night even before the final drive. The guy has the guts to make that pass and then come back after a bad one and make it again. He looked like a leader. He looked like his dad.
You could sense it and see it but there were not results yet. It just did not look like Auburn's night for so long. I knew this kid was special but it looked like him being a true freshman playing one of the top teams in the country in the most famous professional stadium in the country his first time out was asking too much. He had one final chance though, one more chance to lead his team to a win... I was still pretty doubtful at the start of the drive. I was even more doubtful as it quickly went to 4th and 3. It all came down to this. Nix rolled out but found nobody open and not much room ahead of him... but he found the room and by inches got the first down. I texted my friend five words... "He's going to win it". You just felt it, another magnificent chapter in Auburn football was about to be written.
Nix soon hit another moment of truth. Auburn was facing 3rd and 10 from the Oregon 39 yard line. It was still too far away for a field goal and Auburn had to pass. The offensive line and backs had to block, the receiver called on had to catch it and Bo Nix had to deliver it. He did on a play you rarely ever see in the Malzahn offense but a play we should see a lot more of, a straight drop back pass. Nix dropped back and put it right on the money to a crossing Seth Williams. THAT is the kind of play I want to see more of, the kind of play I have wanted to see more of for six years. I still doubt we see much of it but we saw it last night.
I was already getting mad because standard Malzahn practice would be to run the ball or throw short and play for the field goal. The man must have lost his mind for a moment because he actually did the right thing for once. He would have a national championship if he would have done it his first season and several more wins if he had done it more times since then but at least he did it this night. He went for the KILL SHOT. As the Bible says, there is a time for everything. In football there is a time to be conservative and there is a time to go for it. This was one of the those times to go for it. Bo Nix dropped back with 16 seconds left in the game and delivered a great ball to Seth Williams who grabbed it, held on to it and got in the end zone for the winning touchdown.
It was pandemonium. Every Auburn fan was on their feet along with Bo's dad in the stands, Patrick Nix. I could hear the echoes of Jim Fyffe and Brent Musburger going crazy after his game-changing and game-winning throws and now his son in his first game as Auburn Tiger had just thrown the game-winning touchdown against one of the better teams in the country. His son had led Auburn to a win in spite of Gus Malzahn's painful predictability on offense. I know he had a lot of help. The offensive line and everyone blocking hung in there after a tough start and turned the tide. Boobee Whitlow ran his guts out and was also a major factor in this win along with the wide receivers.
The defense also hung in there and was probably the main factor Auburn even had a chance to win the game. However it always comes down to the quarterback if the game is close. It is the most important position on the field and the de facto leader on offense. I have seen a lot of quarterbacks have great days and make big throws but I have not seen many true freshman quarterbacks go 12 for 30 with two interceptions and then step up and make plays like that. BO NIX. He may not, like his dad, be able to lead Auburn to championships. Pat Nix had to deal with probation in 1994 and a very weak defense plus coaching issues in 1995. His son is gong to have to deal with unfair scheduling, recruiting in the trenches and possibly a coaching change during his time on the plains.
I think there are going to be tough times ahead for the Auburn football program. However I can tell you that Bo Nix, like his dad, is going to lead Auburn to more big wins. Big wins that we will never forget like last night. WAR BO NIX AND WAR EAGLE.
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