A chance for Bo Nix to move past road struggles, plus other notes

A handful of notes to get you prepared for another football Saturday, with a look at Auburn quarterback Bo Nix, a Houston player who sees action on both sides of the ball, a surprising start by a Big Ten team and some quick hitters.

Bo Nix in the spotlight

There’s no Power 5 quarterback in the nation with a better quarterback rating through two weeks than a guy from the SEC. It’s not Alabama’s Bryce Young, Ole Miss’ Matt Corral or Kentucky’s Will Levis.

It’s Auburn’s Bo Nix.

In his first two starts under new coach Bryan Harsin and new offensive coordinator Mike Bobo, Nix (albeit against Akron and Alabama State) has gone 29-of-39 for 383 yards with five touchdown passes and no interceptions.

A positive start? Sure. Nevertheless, the challenge will be much greater this week when Nix and the No. 22 Tigers travel to face No. 10 Penn State and a defense that’s allowed just 23 total points in wins over Wisconsin and Ball State.

One of the big storylines for Auburn will be whether Nix can be better than he was in these types of games during his first two seasons as the starter. Simply put, the numbers haven’t been great for Nix on the road and against ranked opponents.

In his career, Nix has nine starts against Power 5 teams at home and nine vs. Power 5 teams on the road. We’re not including neutral-site games, including bowl matchups.

At home, Nix has completed 63.7 percent of his passes (174-of-273) for an average of 242 yards per game, with 18 total touchdowns (12 passing, six rushing) and only one interception. But on the road, Nix has completed just 54.5 percent of his passes (156-of-286) for an average of 180 yards per game, with 13 total touchdowns (nine passing, four rushing) and 10 interceptions.

Included in those road stats are five starts against ranked teams. In those games, Nix has a completion percentage of just 51.3, has thrown for 161 yards per game and has seven interceptions with just five total touchdowns (three passing, two rushing). Auburn is 1-4 in those games.

That was all under the previous Tigers coaching staff, though. Will it be different under Harsin? We’ll find out Saturday.

Is Marcus Jones the AAC version of Jabrill Peppers?

Houston’s Marcus Jones already has received All-American recognition at cornerback and as a return specialist. Now, he may be one of the Cougars’ most dangerous players on offense, too.

It’s not too often that college football players see considerable action on both sides of the ball, especially when they’re contributing on special teams as well. Former Michigan star Jabrill Peppers is one of the last to do it. But that’s what Jones is doing at Houston.

In addition to his work at cornerback and as the Cougars’ punt returner, Jones — who’s listed at 5 feet 8, 185 pounds — has gotten time at wide receiver in each of Houston’s first two games. (Jones and the Cougars play host to Grambling on Saturday.) While Jones’ five touches during a season-opening loss to Texas Tech (three carries and two catches) produced just 4 total yards, he followed that with 51 yards on four catches during Houston’s 44-7 rout of crosstown foe Rice last weekend. The yardage total was tied for second-best on the team.

Jones, from Enterprise, Ala., transferred to Houston after two seasons at Troy. At Troy, he was the Sun Belt Freshman of the Year in 2017 and an all-conference selection at defensive back and as a return specialist in 2018.

Stock on the rise for Mel Tucker, Michigan State

Outside of Alabama-Florida and Auburn-Penn State, one of the more interesting games of the weekend will be No. 24 Miami hosting Michigan State.

After finishing 2-5 in 2020 in Mel Tucker’s first season as coach, the Spartans appear set for a big-time turnaround in Year 2, thanks in part to transfer additions like running back Kenneth Walker III from Wake Forest and linebacker Quavaris Crouch from Tennessee.

A season-opening 38-21 upset at Northwestern was followed by a 42-14 victory over FCS Youngstown State. If the Spartans can get a win over Miami (and can continue to look as good as they’ve looked through two games), it’s conceivable that they could be 6-1 or 7-0 heading into a matchup with Michigan on October 30.

Michigan State’s next four games after the matchup with Miami: home games against Nebraska and Western Kentucky and road matchups against Rutgers and Indiana.

Michigan State enters the Miami game as a six-point underdog.

Quick hitters

+ As our friends at the Senior Bowl pointed out Thursday, the Auburn-Penn State game features a big-time matchup between two top NFL prospects — Auburn cornerback Roger McCreary and Penn State wide receiver Jahan Dotson. Both are in position to go in the first two rounds of next year’s NFL draft.

+ Desmond Ridder already is a known commodity for No. 8 Cincinnati at quarterback, but a former Alabama transfer is going to make the Bearcats’ offense even tougher for opponents to defend — running back Jerome Ford. After rushing for 483 yards and eight touchdowns in 2020 during his first season at Cincinnati, Ford has taken over as the Bearcats’ starter this season. He ran for 234 yards and four touchdowns in Cincinnati’s wins over Miami (Ohio) and Murray State, and is averaging 7.8 yards per carry. Ford was a four-star prospect from Seffner (Fla.) Armwood, in the Tampa suburbs, in the 2018 signing class. He left Alabama following the 2019 season after playing in eight games, including one start, in two years.