AUBURN | One of the SEC’s best quarterback/wide receiver combos kept misfiring Saturday.

The frustrations between two of Auburn’s top players boiled over in the second half of a 30-22 loss at South Carolina with Bo Nix and Seth Williams shown on the ESPN broadcast arguing with each other coming off the field after a pass intended for Williams was thrown behind him and broken up by USC cornerback J.C. Horn.

“They love each other. They have a love relationship, a love-hate relationship,” senior wide receiver Eli Stove said. “They just want to win. Everybody just wants to win, but them two, for sure. They want to be on the same page at all times, know what's going on.”

Williams caught four passes for 74 yards including a leaping 44-yard grab in the second quarter, but the results weren’t as positive most of the other times Nix tried to get the ball to Williams. According to ESPN late in the game, Williams was targeted 12 times including two of Nix’s three interceptions.

“We’ll have to look on film,” said Auburn coach Gus Malzahn on the miscommunication between Nix and Williams. “Y’all seen, they usually have a very good feel for each other. We’ll take a look at it on film. You’ve probably got to give their DB some credit too. But we’ll look at it and we need to correct it.”

Horn also had a huge game going up against Williams for much of the afternoon. The junior had three tackles, four pass breakups and two interceptions.

His last interception came on a ball intended for Williams, which he returned to AU’s 8-yard line. USC scored a touchdown on the next play to take a 27-19 lead at the end of the third quarter.

Nix finished 24 of 47 for 272 yards with one touchdown. His three interceptions are the most since throwing three in a loss at Florida last season.

Auburn’s receivers also had a handful of dropped passes.

“Really, we’d done what I’d say was a really good job of protecting the football up to this point,” Malzahn said. “I think a couple of those, you’ve got to have the receivers on the same page. I think one or two of those probably wasn’t on the same page. I think one bounced off a guy and bounced up. We’ve got to protect the football.”

The Tigers are now 14-18 under Malzahn when they lose the turnover battle and 49-15 when they have more or an even number of turnovers.

No. 15 Auburn (2-2) will play at Ole Miss next Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for 11 a.m. CT on SECN.