Gus Malzahn criticized himself in losses to Florida and LSU for not doing enough to make things easier for his true freshman quarterback and for not getting Bo Nix into a solid rhythm.
So against Ole Miss’ pass defense, which entered the game ranked 121st in the nation, the plan was to get Nix heating up on early downs and with short, quick completions — and it worked.
Nix threw for a career-high 340 yards and averaged 11.3 yards a completion in the Tigers’ narrow victory over Ole Miss, 20-14 on Saturday night in Jordan-Hare Stadium.
“We felt good about a few things, that we could have some completions to get us in tempo,” Malzahn said. “So that was kind of the plan as far as we had some short throws, we had a little bubble, we had some short throws to get us in tempo. We felt like if we could get them in tempo and spread them out a little bit there were some opportunities with some bubbles and things like that on the perimeter.”
Prior to the win over the Rebels, Auburn threw on first down one-third of the time. It then went to the air on 18 of 38 first-down plays Saturday. Nix completed 12 of them.
Nix said it’s been the best tempo he’s felt the offense has had since Auburn’s win over Mississippi State in September.
“I felt like I was in a great rhythm,” Nix said. “We had some short passes and low, intermediate passes I could feel comfortable with and they were open, so it was just playing catch with my guys.
“... It got us into a rhythm, it got us getting into going fast and coach likes playing fast. Once we do that, that really plays to his strengths.”
Nix spread the ball to nine different pass-catchers, including a career-high nine receptions for Anthony Schwartz. The quarterback found his speedy sophomore receiver in the first half with a 50-yard bomb over two defenders, but Nix was also helped Saturday by his receivers’ ability to run after the catch, highlighted by Harold Joiner’s 78-yard wheel route. That serves as Auburn’s longest play of the season and its biggest pass since 2013.
“We knew they've got a good run defense, and the pass defense isn't as great,” Schwartz said. “So we tried to attack the weak point. I don't know how many yards we had, but I know it was a lot. It was just a great time for everyone to get the ball — me, Seth, Sal, Jay Jay, Eli, everyone.”
The early-down completions also put Auburn in more advantageous third-down situations than weeks prior. After averaging 11.2 yards to gain facing third downs against LSU, Auburn faced just two third-and-long situations. It also converted 7 of 10 tries on third-and-short.
“We kept it in manageable third downs,” Nix said. “We didn’t get past the sticks any, and we were able to follow our plan and we were able to execute a little better. We always have a good plan going into third down, but it’s hard in third-and-15, third-and-12, things like that. We were able to manage the chains and then get in manageable first downs and complete a few.”
It obviously wasn’t a perfect night for the Tigers offense, though. Despite a 500-yard day, the offense as a whole stalled out when it entered Ole Miss territory, Auburn receivers dropped four passes and Nix had a handful of throws he said he’d like back
“I feel like we’re confident,” Nix said. “Offensively, we executed well tonight. We just got to do better, so we don’t kick field goals and continue to lengthen drives. But, nah, I feel good and we were able to get a little bit of a rhythm.
“We’ve got guys on the field who are good with the ball in their hands, so they made plays and just continue to back our defense up and we know they’re going to play great every game, so we’ve just gotta play our part.”
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