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Is Bo Nix now the best quarterback in the Pac-12 after Oregon transfer?

By Andrew Hughes

Nov 13, 2021; Auburn, Alabama, USA; Auburn Tigers quarterback Bo Nix (10) warms up before the game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Reed-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 13, 2021; Auburn, Alabama, USA; Auburn Tigers quarterback Bo Nix (10) warms up before the game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Reed-USA TODAY Sports /
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Bo Nix is now facing far inferior competition across the board in the Pac-12 after leaving the Auburn Tigers–and one of the country’s most grueling schedules year in and year out–to join the Oregon Ducks.

That we’ve been able to accept as a fact about Nix’s future since it was reported he wouldn’t be transferring within the SEC.

But in making the move to Eugene, did Nix actually put himself atop the Pac-12 quarterback totem pole?

Bo Nix has the most big-game experience but he isn’t the best Pac-12 QB…yet.

It’d simply be unfair to ignore Nix’s ankle injury as something that won’t slow him down, at least a little. Not only that, but it’s a stretch to say that he is already the best QB in the conference.

Remember, he has plenty of competition in the Ducks QB room as it is, with Ty Thompson, Jay Butterfield, and Robby Ashford all hoping to get snaps in 2022. Nix has to first get a stranglehold of his own starting spot before we go that far.

Not only that, but there are two clear choices who arguably have a better case as it stands right now.

The first is Jayden de Laura, the Washington State gunslinger that went for 2,751 passing yards, 26 all-purpose touchdowns, and led the Cougars to a second place finish in the Pac-12 north after being projected to finish below in-state rival Washington, Cal, and Stanford. de Laura has been there and done that in the conference, and was named the Pac-12’s Offensive Freshman of the Year.

There’s also Dillon Gabriel, who got injured early on in what turned out to be a surprisingly strong season for UCF despite early struggles. Gabriel helped lead a storybook Week One comeback against Boise State and had been dominating the AAC with one of the nation’s strongest arms to the tune of two 3,500+ passing yard seasons.

Until Bo Nix starts putting up those gaudy numbers, he can’t rely on his freshman year Iron Bowl victory and brilliance against LSU, Arkansas, Ole Miss, and Mississippi State this past season, because his sophomore campaign and struggles against Penn State and Texas A&M have the same equity on his resume.

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