Former Auburn QB a bridge from what CFB was to what it’s become
Former Auburn football QB Bo Nix, whose Oregon Ducks lost 34-31 to Washington in the 2023 Pac-12 Championship game on December 1, was called by Oregon Live’s Bill Oram “a bridge from what college football was to what it has become.”
“Nix’s career, which started with a win over Oregon in Dallas all those years ago, spanned the most disruptive period in college football history,” Oram prefaced before saying, “He pointed out that he started playing in an age before NIL, before realignment had totally changed the landscape and before the transfer portal. He is the bridge from what college football was to what it has become.”
Nix’s collegiate debut against Oregon for the Tigers at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, and that season’s finale, an Iron Bowl upset that stands as the last Auburn win over Alabama, all seem like ancient history with the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns reaching the world just two months after the 2019 season’s bowl game. The 2020 season was a standalone blur, but 2021 was a definitive new era for the sport with NIL having guys paid and players receiving immediate eligibility upon transferring even without having graduated.
Oram is spot-on here. And in many ways, it’s sad that Nix is gone since he was in many ways one of the last links to a bygone era in the sport.
Former Auburn football QB Bo Nix unsure about playing in Oregon’s bowl game
With Oregon’s loss, Nix’s Heisman hopes are likely up in smoke. That’s LSU QB Jayden Daniels’ award to lose now. And he won’t.
The loss was likely Nix’s last game too, with the Pinson product sounding like someone who’s grappling with the end of his college football career during the Pac-12 Championship post-game presser.
“Can we just enjoy the moment right now and enjoy our season?” Nix asked when questioned on his bowl game status (h/t ESPN). “That’s not today’s decision. I have no idea.
“I’m just trying to get over that loss. I’m not thinking about anything else. I think that’s why I’m in shock because I’m expecting a game next week and I’m expecting another opponent. It’s tough when you’re used to go, go, go, and then when it ends, it happens very quickly.”
The NFL is likely next for Nix after a five-year career split between the Plains and Eugene, Oregon.