How Bo Nix, Auburn can overcome stiff Georgia defense

When Bo Nix takes on the Georgia defense Saturday, it will arguably be the biggest challenge of his career. The Bulldogs enter as the top-ranked unit in the country having pitched two consecutive SEC shutouts.

Nix, on the other hand, has struggled to maintain his starting job at times this season. That wasn’t the case last week in arguably his best game of the season against LSU, but beating No. 2 Georgia still seems like a longshot.

A pair of ESPN analysts agree, laying out the long path to success for the Auburn quarterback.

“We’ve seen in the past that if you’re going to take down these Goliaths, you need a quarterback that has a little bit of off-script to him,” Mike Golic Jr. said. “Last week coming in a situation where he was benched against Georgia State, we saw the best of Bo Nix. We saw him get the ball out of his hands on time. Operate this misdirection offense, mix in some quarterback run and of course the off-schedule play that was the highlight of the win against LSU.

“In this game, it’s going to have to be that and then some. We know it takes a little off-script, but trying to catch this Georgia defense out of position — good luck with that one.”

Nix has drawn ire at times from Auburn faithful, but his performance against LSU was a step in the right direction. If he is to continue that progress against the Bulldogs, he will need to get rid of the ball fast and show off the same scrambling ability he did last week.

Nix led the Tigers with 74 yards rushing and a touchdown this past week. However, he runs into a Georgia squad averaging 3.6 sacks per game.

“Good luck if Bo Nix thinks he’s going to go that far off script and succeed against Georgia like he did LSU,” Trevor Matich said. “This Georgia defense is faster than LSU’s defense. If he tries to do that, he’ll make some plays, but he’ll also get smashed. This is the most destructive defensive line I’ve seen in college football and it’s backed by the most aggressive group of linebackers I’ve ever seen.

“Bo Nix will need to make off-schedule plays, but he needs to make sure he gets that ball out quickly and makes decisions fast. If he tries to do too much and look at his LSU tape, he’s gonna give himself a big headache.”

The main takeaway seems to be that Nix should be smart with the ball. In spite of his perceived struggles this year, the quarterback has at least kept mistakes to a minimum, having yet to throw an interception.

If Auburn is to score against this Georgia defense, Bo Nix will need to know when is the right time to make a play and when it’s better to simply get rid of the ball.