Bryan Harsin addresses next steps for Bo Nix, Anders Carlson

Auburn blew a lead on Saturday and lost to Texas A&M, but in truth, head coach Bryan Harsin lost far more than a game in Bo Nix and Anders Carlson.

In Auburn’s 43-34 loss, which saw Mississippi State score 40-unanswered points en route to a come-from-behind victory, Harsin also lost two key playmakers: his starting quarterback, Nix, and his starting placekicker, Carlson.

Nix suffered a broken ankle in the loss to Mississippi State, which will sideline him for the remainder of the season. He underwent successful surgery on Monday in Birmingham, making his status official. TJ Finley will take over at quarterback with Nix out indefinitely.

Carlson, on the other hand, injured his left ACL during a collision in the fourth quarter, when Auburn attempted an onside kick. The senior kicker crashed into a Mississippi State defender and came up hobbling. Carlson limped off the field. After Carlson’s ACL injury, he will miss the remainder of the season, too.

“We’ll have some guys that will have to step up and get their opportunities as we go into this week against South Carolina,” Harsin said Monday in Auburn’s press conference. “Both of those guys (Nix and Carlson) are in good spirits and it’s unfortunate what happened to them. Those guys have handled it well. Guys on the team know what we have to do in order to have guys step up and fill those roles and get ourselves ready to play.”

Nix played almost the entire game against Mississippi State until Finley came on in the game’s waning minutes. Nix finished with 27 completions in 41 attempts, good for 377 passing yards and two touchdowns. Finley, on the other hand, did not complete the only pass he threw. He will make his first-career start at Auburn on Saturday.

Through Auburn’s first ten games, Nix has completed 61 percent of his passing attempts for 2,294 passing yards, 11 touchdowns and three interceptions, while also providing help on the ground — Nix has rushed for 168 yards and four touchdowns this year.

“The first thing you talk about with the quarterback position is toughness, and there’s no question with that with Bo, and I’ve said that before,” Harsin said of Nix, who returned to the game and played a few drives after suffering his ankle injury. “He was injured on a long throw that he had made, continued that drive, came out and got looked at, was able to go back into the game and play and was available to do that. Bo is a tough individual, number one. He wants to win, he wants to succeed, he wants to be apart of that. Says a lot about his desire to be out there with his teammates and provide whatever he can from that position to help us win. I love that. I love the attitude. Unfortunately, he was injured, and he’ll be out for the rest of the season. But he’s got a great attitude about it. From the surgery today, his recovery moving forward is going to be the focus.”

Carlson, on the other hand, has been a consistent option for Auburn’s special teams unit. The senior placekicker from Colorado Springs, Colorado has made 14-of-21 field goal attempts on the season, and he’s converted on 35-of-36 extra points.

Carlson is currently third in career scoring at Auburn with 352 points, trailing second-place Wes Byrum by just 11 points. Carlson is fourth in career extra-points made at Auburn with 151, only 11 behind John Vaughn.

Losing Nix and Carlson is a blow to the Tigers. Can they overcome it remains to be seen?