Bo Nix and #12 Auburn football (6-2) take on the #13 Texas A&M Aggies in Week 10. Nix led the Tigers to a 31-10 victory at home against a very good Ole Miss Rebels team who were ranked 10th in the nation last week.
It didn’t matter that Ole Miss had one of the most high powered offenses in the country. Nix helped lead the way in another big win against another ranked opponent, and the result was a subsequent boost six spots in the AP Poll.
The Aggies come into this one with a 6-2 record to match coming off big win against South Carolina, winning emphatically with a 44-14 score.
Their most notable win was of course against Alabama which, let’s face it, we all enjoyed. However this is a new week, and it’ll be a fight to finish for the SEC West title for the next four grueling Saturdays.
It is no secret how mightily Nix has struggled on the road. Though his last road loss has not been since the White Out game at Penn State, where the Tigers were on the wrong end of a 28-20 final. He only completed 21/37 passes for 185 yards and while those numbers were meek in and of itself, his major problem was his bad passes leading to an alarmingly high number of drops.
It was not a terrible loss but it did show Nix’s lack of finishing success, and in games that followed everybody was questioning if he was even the right man for the job.
Before the win at LSU, Auburn football was just 1-4 against Power 5 teams. In those games, Nix had a weak completion percentage of 51.3 and didn’t crack 200 yards through the air.
Not impressive numbers when you are trying to challenge for any sort of title.
It all changed in early October when Auburn football beat LSU finally winning in Baton Rogue 24-19. Bo Nix made history as the first quarterback to do it in 2 decades. He was dazzling and streaky and everything you would want in a leader under center.
Making impossible plays out of pure luck and strength that had all of us in shock and awe. He fought like a tiger and became forever in my eyes, Bo Houdini.
Throughout the season Nix has gotten better, stronger, more confident, and more relaxed. Especially when the run game is hitting on all cylinders. This was a team nobody was giving a shot to be SEC West contenders at the start of the season.
However, with Alabama going down, beating Ole Miss, and Arkansas the Tigers said “Not so fast yet, boys.”
In Week 9 against the Rebels, Nix ran for two touchdowns and threw for 276 yards, adding another touchdown through the passing. It was a well controlled victory the entire game proving again just what a leader he can be in the big moments. He will never truly wow you with his numbers like a Matt Corral would, but where he will wow you is with his confidence. His ability to win and his will power to do it.
You may see some drops come Saturday as well as some less than accurate passes, but you will also see an entertaining quarterback. One who no matter how down and out he is, he does not give up.
His tenacity to win no matter what is something that sets him apart. It might not always be pretty and it will be blood pressure raising, but he has come up time after time this season. When the team needs it, he will throw some of the biggest passes you’ll see in college football. When the situation calls for it, he will be one of the best running quarterbacks in college football. While his numbers may not be consistent he does what has to be done, when the game is on the line, to get his team to victory.
That is why I believe his streak on the road will continue.
Auburn football plays the Texas A&M Aggies on Saturday at Kyle Field in College Station on CBS at 3:30 p.m. The Tigers are once again given the lesser odds to win.
When will the world of college football learn to stop counting them out?
This would be a great week to start, because this is the team that refuses to lose.