Auburn football fans were happy with what they saw last night from the three transfers that came over from Oregon — most notably QB Robby Ashford, who amassed 168 all-purpose yards and had the two most spectacular plays of the day under center: a 56-yard completion to Ja’Varrius Johnson and a 49-yard run that was the longest for the Tigers for a QB since John Franklin III against Louisiana-Monroe in 2016 (per the Auburn Observer’s Justin Ferguson).
The other two Oregon transfers, DJ James and Jayson Jones, didn’t make quite the impact that Ashford did, collecting five tackles total. James carried the load with two assisted and two unassisted.
Still, Auburn football fans had to feel pretty good about the unofficial ‘trade’ with Oregon via the transfer portal that ultimately saw Bo Nix end up in Eugene. Nix has explained that his decision to leave the Plains had a lot to do with the Kenny Dillingham offensive coordinator hire, but his Week 1 21/37 passing performance, punctuated by two interceptions in the first half while things were still relatively close against Georgia, showed that the chemistry between the OC and QB will take some time to rekindle.
That Ashford came within 50 yards of Nix’s total, taking far fewer snaps than the Ducks signal-caller, is a good indicator of the gap between what Tiger fans are feeling and what the Oregon faithful may be feeling.
Auburn football fans feel they won the Bo Nix ‘trade’
It’s certainly early, but if Oregon doesn’t recover and finish with nine or 10 wins, Bo Nix’s opening week dud against the Dawgs could end up defining the Ducks’ season. In the Pac-12, there is little leeway to make the CFP. Running the table, or finishing with two losses at most, is a pre-requisite for a west coast team to contend on a national scale.
BYU, UCLA, and Utah loom as three matchups that could ultimately push Oregon out of the Top 25 by season’s end. Their preseason No. 11 ranking already looks like a stretch given the domination from the Bulldogs in Atlanta Saturday.
If Nix and the Ducks flame out, and Robby Ashford could continue to be an exemplary change-of-pace dual-threat, it’s possible the ‘trade’ between Oregon and Auburn football could be a W for the Auburn family.
Some fans feel it’s a win already:
That Robby Ashford for Bo Nix trade looks good so far
— Timbo Slice 🦚 (@TIMinVIRGINIA) September 4, 2022
That Bo Nix for Robby Ashford, DJ James, and Jason Jones trade is looking pretty damn good to me rn
— Jimmy Chestnut (@Aubfather) September 3, 2022
We won the Bo Nix trade. https://t.co/p2MnK2Vfjp
— Ethan G | 🏎🏁🏆 (@efgregs) September 4, 2022
So far I like the call the GM made to trade for Bo Nix
— Barn This Way (@docmo81) September 3, 2022
Time will tell if this holds, but it’s nice that this is the post-Week 1 narrative on the Plains.