Bo Nix defends his hit that led to a scrum, appreciates reaction from teammates

Oregon quarterback Bo Nix had no ill intent when he delivered a late hit Saturday in a 45-27 victory against Stanford. After Cardinal safety Patrick Fields picked up a loose ball and began taking off the other direction, Nix chased him down and knocked him out of bounds.

However, what Nix failed to realize was that the play had already been ruled dead. That led to a scuffle between the two teams that resulted in the ejection of receiver Seven McGee, the player who lost the ball on the previous play.

“It was a loud stadium at the time,” Nix said postgame. “It looked like a fumble. They sure looked like they were trying to run and score, so it was just kind of instinct. (I) just felt like the play was still going on and you never know with something like that. Could be an inadvertent whistle or something. Usually the ball carrier will stop if the play’s blown dead. So at the time, it was just instinctual to get him on the ground because that could’ve cost us some points.”

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Bo Nix is a real one for this 👀 pic.twitter.com/Epx4kRsE8e

— Emily Van Buskirk (@Emilnem) October 2, 2022

Bo Nix went on to say that while the fight that transpired after his hit was “a little excessive,” he was thankful to know his team was there to protect him.

“After that, it’s a little excessive, but it’s an honor to know my team has my back like that,” he said. “It’s really special to see that. But at the same time, we can tone it back a little bit and be a little bit smarter.”

Nix finished the game 16-of-29 passing for 161 yards in addition to 141 yards rushing and four total touchdowns. Saturday marked the fourth straight victory for the Ducks after they lost to Georgia in Week 1, and they moved up to No. 12 in the AP poll as a result.

Nix and Oregon will hope to keep that hot streak going when they travel to face Arizona at 6 p.m. PT on Saturday in Week 6.