Career nights for Nix, Williams

AUBURN | Bo Nix took a big step forward in his development Saturday night and it was his ace receiver Seth Williams that helped get him there.

Nix threw for a career-high 335 yards and Williams caught eight passes for 161 yards — both career highs — to lead No. 7 Auburn to a 56-23 win over Mississippi State at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

“I think tonight we played our best game by far. We showed it, and the stat line and score showed it,” Nix said.

Nix, starting his fifth-ever college game, completed 16 of 21 passes (76.2 percent) including a 39-yard touchdown pass to Williams in the second quarter and a 32-yard touchdown in the third quarter.

It’s the fourth 300-yard passing game by a freshman in Auburn history with Stan White accomplishing the feat it three times in 1990.

“I think you see him every game and every snap, he feels a little more comfortable and the game gets slower,” Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said. “He was really accurate with his throws. He made some very good throw on intermediate routes and made some very good throws on some deep balls. And short game too, he hit a couple of slants there I thought was good.

“He hurt them with his feet. Anytime a quarterback can hurt you with the feet and throw like he did tonight, that’s a good thing.”

Nix added a team-high 56 yards rushing on seven carries including a 9-yard touchdown run, which was the second of three touchdowns the Tigers scored in the first six minutes of the game.

Williams’ 161 receiving yards are the most for an Auburn player since Sammie Coates had 206 against Alabama in 2014.

“You never know when it's your time. When it's your time, you've just got to make plays. It was my time tonight, and it's what I did,” Williams said.

Auburn’s 56 points ties for the most it’s ever scored against the Bulldogs, winning 56-0 in 1970. The 42 first-half points ties for the most in an SEC game. The Tigers last did that against Vanderbilt in 1990.

“Oh, we're back to being an Auburn offense,” Williams said. “This is what Auburn is about — fast pace and scoring touchdowns. That's what Malzahn likes to do, so that's what we're doing.”

Auburn plays at No. 9 Florida next Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CT on CBS.