You couldn’t have asked for a more picture-perfect opening kickoff victory for Auburn football following their 60-10 decimation of a wildly under-matched Akron Zips squad.
The MAC bottom-feeder (though their dominant victory over Bowling Green last year makes the Falcons the true basement) made the near-800 mile trek from eastern Ohio to be feasted on by a Tigers team reinvigorated by the new coaching staff’s creative offensive schemes and dogged defensive intensity.
Jordan-Hare Stadium was just about full, and the pomp and pageantry of everything that makes a home game on the Plains unmatched just about anywhere were on full display.
Again, this was picturesque. After an offseason of foolhardy predictions tabbing the Tigers as a bottom-tier SEC team, AU went out and destroyed a Group of Five school in a way that builds serious momentum as a pivotal Week Three matchup against Penn State–whose defense looked stout against Wisconsin but outside of a few throws had a struggling QB in Sean Clifford running the show–looms.
But before we focus on the Nittany Lions or next week’s interstate FCS opponent, the Alabama State Hornets, let’s take a look at which Tigers had their stock improve…and those who had the opposite happen on Saturday night:
Stock up: Auburn football QB Bo Nix
The most important development from Saturday was the Bo Nix “dark horse for Heisman” meme remaining in tact.
In fact, Nix’s performance was so impressive–completing 20/22 passes, amassing 275 yards through the air, and throwing for three TDs in three quarters of play–that if he can sustain it, saying “this is the year” may not sound like a joke for much longer.