Georgia vs Auburn: It Could Be a Tough Day for Freshman QB Bo Nix
With three games against top-10 opponents already this season, Auburn Freshman QB Bo Nix has seen a tough slate to start his career for the Tigers. Saturday could be another long day as the Georgia defense comes to town.
Bo Nix vs. Top-10 Opponents this season:
- Oregon: 13/31 for 177 yds, 2TDs/2INTs (W)
- @Florida: 11/27 for 145 yds, 1TD/3INTs (L)
- @LSU: 15/35 for 157 yds, 1TD/1INT (L)
All six of Bo Nix's interceptions on the season have come in these three matchups. His 60.4 QBR rating on the season is almost a full seventeen points higher than the 43.5 QBR against quality opponents.
Granted, he delivered a last-minute, game-winning drive to beat an Oregon team that is currently ranked 6th and hasn't lost a game since. As a true freshman nonetheless.
Furthermore, I'd be hard-pressed to rattle off a handful of environments worse for a freshman quarterback than Gainseville or Baton Rouge. So, for the young man to have his team in both of those football games is evidence of excellence on the horizon.
The good news for Nix, this game against Georgia is at home. The bad news, this Georgia defense is better than anything he's faced all season.
We've mentioned earlier in the week how this matchup features two teams with similar identities with drastically different packaging. Both teams are run first on offense, and both team's defenses are predicated on stopping the run.
Auburn runs the ball on 60.8% of their plays on offense, and are 2nd in the SEC with 219.3 rushing yards per game. Whereas Georgia's defense is ranked 2nd in the FBS against the rush, allowing just 74.6 YPG on the ground.
So, if and when Auburn's run game is shut down at points in this contest or Georgia manages to place them in 3rd & Long on multiple occasions, Nix will turn it over. His very brief history against good teams says so at least.