Down 21 to Georgia, eight to South Carolina or 29 to Alabama, Auburn quarterback Bo Nix has never shown an inclination towards giving up.
“There’s no quit in our quarterback,” coach Gus Malzahn said.
Against the Gamecocks, Nix almost led the Tigers on a tying drive, but they stalled out on the South Carolina 12. Against the Bulldogs, he kept looking for big plays despite a large deficit. And against the Crimson Tide, he managed to slip into the end zone in the final quarter. But out of all those losses and failed comeback attempts, the one to Alabama hits different. It’s Nix’s first Iron Bowl loss.
“I think it feels pretty terrible and it’s not very fun,” Nix said. “It just hurts because of everything I have put into it, everything I’ve done to get to this moment. To come up a lot short, it’s an awful feeling to be honest with you. I’ve never really been in this situation before.”
Nix grew up watching the Iron Bowl, grew up with dreams of leading the Tigers to victory in one of the biggest rivalry games in the country. He even played and won in Bryant-Denny Stadium, Alabama’s home, as the quarterback at Pinson Valley High School.
And then, last year, his dreams came true. Nix led Auburn to a suspenseful three-point victory. He secured Auburn’s second victory over Alabama in three years with the home win.
2020 was going to be his first attempt at changing Auburn’s luck in Alabama territory. The Tigers had not won in Tuscaloosa since 2010, when Nix was in elementary school. He knew, firsthand, how terrible it felt to go to school the next day and face the Alabama fans after an Auburn Iron Bowl loss.
“There are a lot of kids going to school on Monday who are going to have to put up with a lot of crap whichever way it goes,” Nix said before the game.
So Nix, bolstered by last season’s win, was prepared to play the hardest he’s ever played in his life. Unfortunately, the entire team fell short of that goal. The pass offense, the run offense, the pass defense, the run defense and the special teams all struggled in the 42-13 loss.
“We weren’t able to make any impact plays really in all three phases to give us some momentum, to put a little pressure on them,” Malzahn said Sunday.
While Nix takes a fair share of the blame for the offense’s struggles — like the forced pass that turned into an interception — Malzahn said the poor offensive performance, as well as Nix’s struggles, were the result of a combination of factors.
One of the big ones was the offensive line. Heading into the game, it was down two starters, and it lost a third by halftime. The line struggled to give Nix enough time to make plays, and it struggled to open up lanes for the rushers.
The first part hurt because Nix has a tendency to escape the pocket too soon, and he reverted back to that habit Saturday, but the second one was killer because Auburn’s offense does not function without the run. That has been on clear display through the season. Auburn struggled in early games where there was little production on the ground. Then, as soon as the run game clicked, the offense found a rhythm.
Saturday, Auburn rushed for 120 yards, the lowest amount in the last five games. Nix rushed for a loss of one yard. Typically, he is a run threat, which helps the running backs, but he was shut down by Alabama’s defense.
With the stalled run game, Alabama’s defense was able to focus more on defending the receivers and affecting the passer. Auburn still finished with 227 yards, but it struggled to make big catches once it was in scoring distance. Nix also threw two interceptions, one of which ended an Auburn drive in Alabama territory. He finished the game 23-38 with a rating of 100.2. It was his fourth-lowest completion percentage (60.5%) of the season and second-lowest yards per pass average (9.87 yards per pass).
It was a terrible time for the Tigers to be off their game, since they were facing some of the top players in the country. Alabama is the No. 1 team with multiple preseason all-SEC players on its defense. While Auburn’s game faltered, Alabama’s players demonstrated why they’re considered the top in the country.
It was a lot to handle, but looking back, Malzahn was able to find a positive in the way the team refused to give up and how Nix continued to lead the offense.
“I’m real proud of the way they continued to battle and continued to fight until the end in a very tough situation,” Malzahn said. “Of course, our quarterback did a good job of that also.”
As a result, Auburn was able to get in the end zone late in the game carried by a series of rushes from running back Mark-Anthony Richards and Nix. It finished with Nix’s 1-yard touchdown rush.
“Like I said, he kept fighting until the end, but you’ve got to give them credit,” Malzahn said. “They played very good defensively I felt like and did a good job.”
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