Even before the game started, Bo Nix looked different.

“I seen a look in Bo’s eyes, during pregame meal. It just looked a lot different. He looked a lot more like he had that swag,” defensive back Christian Tutt said. “You know what I’m saying? Like, when somebody’s got that look in their eyes like he just got his swagger back.”

That swag that Tutt saw was back, as Nix had one of the best performances of his career, completing 18-of-24 passes for 300 yards and three touchdowns while adding 11 carries for 81 yards and another touchdown on the ground.

The sophomore quarterback has had his fair share of ups-and-downs through the first half of the 2020 season, but, as of recent, Nix seems to have found his groove.

On the road against South Carolina, Nix was 24-for-47 with 272 yards and a touchdown but had three interceptions.

He responded by traveling to Ole Miss and completing 23-of-30 passes for 230 yards and a touchdown.

Now with his big game against LSU, head coach Gus Malzahn thinks Nix is establishing himself as one of the best quarterbacks in the SEC.

“Our starting quarterback, he got beat up pretty bad two weeks ago, and he’s establishing himself as one of the best in our league,” Malzahn said. “I think it’s about time people start recognizing that.”

With Auburn taking all of fall camp and even part of the season to figure out its starting offensive line, Nix has had to work with a variety of different guys in front of him.

Now with the lineup set, Auburn’s offensive line has been able to grow and build.

Against LSU, who came into the game leading the league in sacks, the Auburn offensive line didn’t give up a single sack.

“We always preach about trying to keep Bo clean. So I think we grew a lot since the Georgia game, every single week,” starting left tackle Alec Jackson said. “We've got a bye week coming up, so we'll get some guys rested up and ready.”

Moving forward as Nix looks to carry his momentum through the bye week, his teammates will have his back, no matter what.

“Up, down, sideways — I’m riding with Bo. Anytime he throws a pick, pick-six, I don’t care what it is,” Tutt said. “I’m going to him, picking him up, getting his confidence back up. If people haven’t realized it: When Bo is on point, nobody can stop that man. You know what I’m saying? All we’ve got to do is get his confidence level back up. So when we have a bad play on the field, you see the whole defense come to him—we’re rallying to him, ‘We’re good Bo. Let’s go Bo.’ Once we get Bo going, it’s over with.”

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