Kirby Smart sees a lot of similarities in Auburn OC Mike Bobo's offense

Georgia football is very familiar with Auburn offensive coordinator Mike Bobo. Bobo spent 2001-2006 as Georgia’s quarterbacks coach before being promoted to offensive coordinator, holding that role from 2007-2014. Georgia head coach Kirby Smart was asked on Monday about the similarities between Bobo’s old offenses at Georgia and his current offense at Auburn.

Smart sees a lot of similarities between previous Bobo offenses to the Auburn offense that Georgia will face on Saturday.

“A lot of similarities to the things I see,” Smart said. “Obviously Mike has done a great job in our conference and his career of taking his best players and finding ways to highlight their positives. I think he’s done that with this unit. He’s got a couple of really good backs, and he’s got a quarterback that’s got a lot of experience. And I think them playing (TJ) Finley late in the Georgia State game gave him a lot of confidence where both quarterbacks can play. I thought Bo (Nix) played a tremendous game against LSU. He’s a tremendous athlete, he’s got great feet. Both quarterbacks are elusive and athletic in their own rights.

“I think Mike has done a really good job. I don’t know how much of it’s him, how much of it is (Bryan) Harsin. That’s not really what’s important to me. You see traits of physicality, they can run the ball, they’ve got good backs, and they do a good job of getting the ball to their playmaker.”

Smart on Georgia facing Auburn quarterback Bo Nix

Despite being benched two games ago, Bo Nix bounced back with a strong performance in Auburn’s win over LSU. In the win, Nix was 23 of 44 for 255 yards and a touchdown. Nix also rushed for 74 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries. Smart knows that Georgia has a challenge ahead in facing Nix and Auburn’s talented offense.

“His ability to extend plays is elite,” Smart said of Nix. “The play he had last week is basically all you need to show for the scouting report. To do what he did against a really good SEC defense with a lot of tremendous athletes, to avoid and escape and keep your eyes downfield, it puts a lot of pressure on the defense.

“It seems like forever that he’s been there and we’ve gone against him twice,” Smart said. “He’s a really good athlete who comes from a coaching family background. I’ve known his dad for a long time. I’ve got a lot of respect for him as a competitor, leader and I think he’s gotten a lot better. He’s doing a much better job keeping his eyes downfield and making decisions.”

Georgia and Auburn will kick off at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday.