Bo Nix Leads Explosive Oregon Offense Into First Test Against Texas Tech
It was an effective but short day at the office for Oregon quarterback Bo Nix in week 1.
The senior from Pinson, Alabama threw for 287 yards and three touchdowns while completing 85.1% of his passes in an 81-7 throttling of Portland State.
Oregon's offense was firing on all cylinders and despite facing an inferior opponent, the veteran was still able to learn about the potential of this year's squad.
"A lot of guys that weren't with us last year--you get to see how they respond to a competitive environment like that," Nix told reporters on Wednesday. "I thought we did a good job of playing clean. That was really the main thing is we played a sharp game, kind of did what we were supposed to do."
Oregon Ducks quarterback Bo Nix fields a snap against the Portland State Vikings.
© Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK
Nix had plenty of talented new additions to throw to, connecting with USC wide receiver transfer Gary Bryant Jr. for one of his three touchdowns. But the face of Oregon's program knows things won't be given to them when the Ducks travel to Lubbock this week to face the Texas Tech Red Raiders, praising an experienced secondary--which is lead in part by former Oregon secondary coach Marcel Yates.
"Their back end is experienced, they've played a lot of football together," he said. "They're gonna be sharp back there. I think they're gonna be in the right spot a lot, they're not gonna have many busts. They're gonna play good, sound football and we're just gonna have to do our best to execute."
This week's trip to the Lone Star State won't be Nix's first time playing in Texas. He made his college debut four years ago in a 27-21 Auburn win over Oregon at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
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Heading into this week's game, he's ready for anything to be thrown his way in a hostile environment. That said, he's got plenty of respect for Texas Tech's 60,000-seat Jones AT&T Stadium.
"I don't know if it's necessarily any different from a normal road environment," the Oregon quarterback said. "They're gonna have a hostile crowd, it's gonna be a good road game and we're gonna have to go in there and play well. We're gonna have to communicate with each other and just really execute the plays that are called."
A player that will be key to Oregon's offensive execution is junior wide receiver Troy Franklin, who's been Nix's favorite target since he transferred to Oregon. The Ducks know he'll be a focus for Red Raiders defensive coordinator Tim DeRuyter, who also previously coached at Oregon, when the two teams square off on Saturday.
Oregon Ducks wide receiver Troy Franklin runs after the catch against the Portland State Vikings.
Darby Winter/Ducks Digest
Nix has seen significant growth from the Ducks' top wideout on the field, but highlighted what he's done off the field.
"He's done a great job off the field, away from football. He's really focused up," he said of Franklin, who led the team in both receiving yards (891) and receiving touchdowns (9) a year ago.
What makes Franklin even more valuable is the hunger to constantly improve and be a student of the game.
"He's asking really great, logical questions. That's valuable from a guy like that who's played a lot of football already, but he's still wanting to grow and change his ways and grow as a player, grow as a person."
After a blowout performance in which the offense exploded for more than 700 yards of total offense, Nix is striving to meet a high standard when he evaluates what his side of the ball can clean up from last week.
"Just the little things. Maybe just as an offense going from playing sharp to really playing perfect football identity," he said. "Playing sound and playing really good with tags, and with routes, and getting our depth and taking right drops and taking right footwork. Being perfect in those kind of things I think will really help us being even sharper for the remainder of the season."
Oregon and Texas Tech kick off on Saturday at 4:10 pm PT on Fox.
