Daily briefing: On Bo Nix’s revitalization, Garrett Shrader and the remaining unbeatens
Ivan Maisel’s “Daily Briefing” for On3:
Bo Nix makes it even tougher for Auburn fans
It’s been a rough season to be an Auburn fan. OK, it’s been a rough decade to be an Auburn fan, but stay focused. There’s no athletic director. The football coach is a square peg in a round loveliest village. The Tigers have lost seven of their past eight SEC games. Nick Saban is still at Alabama. And now, Bo Nix, the Auburn legacy of a quarterback who played good but rarely great football for three seasons at Jordan-Hare Stadium, is flourishing at Oregon. Did you see Nix’s numbers (22-of-28, 283 yards, five touchdowns) against UCLA on Saturday? Here’s the unkindest cut of all: In the two key metrics for measuring quarterback play, Nix ranks ahead of Bryce Young. Nix is sixth in QBR (88.3) and 14th in passing efficiency (165.9); Young is seventh (86.0) and 17th (162.7), respectively). It’s like David Ortiz blossoming with the Red Sox, leaving the Twins with memories of his so-so career. Maybe we call him Bo “Big Papi” Nix.
Yeoman effort by Garrett Shrader in loss
Syracuse quarterback Garrett Shrader had 21 carries against Clemson, and Orange running back Sean Tucker had only five. Orange coach Dino Babers said after the painful 27-21 loss that the Tigers’ defense forced Shrader to keep the ball at the mesh point. Duh, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. “We didn’t want ‘34’ to get it a lot,” Swinney said, referring to Tucker’s jersey number. Shrader rushed for 71 yards, and that’s after five sacks. He had a 37-yard touchdown run and another rush for 25 yards. Tucker rushed for 54 yards. “You don’t realize how fast Shrader is,” Swinney said. “You take a bad angle on him, and he’s gonna score. He’s a problem. Or you hesitate. We did that a couple of times, especially on the 37-yard touchdown run. We had the right call. But you have to give him credit. He’s a fast kid. He’s big. He’s strong. (When 6-foot-5, 305-pound defensive end) Bryan Bresee falls off you, you got something. He’s a really strong, stout guy.”
All hail the remaining unbeatens
The losses by the Bruins and the Orange, combined with Ole Miss’ shocking collapse at LSU, reduces the number of FBS unbeatens to six. Given that No. 1 Georgia will play No. 3 Tennessee on November 5, and No. 2 Ohio State will play No. 4 Michigan on Thanksgiving Saturday, that means we’ll have no more than four unbeatens. History, the law of averages and scheduling tells you there’s a good chance that the two winners, plus Clemson and TCU, won’t all survive the rest of their schedules unscathed. In fact, the undefeated population may be winnowed this week. The Buckeyes (at No. 13 Penn State), Tigers (at Notre Dame), and Horned Frogs (at West Virginia) play on the road, and Georgia is at a neutral site (vs. Florida). Michigan is home against Michigan State and Tennessee is idle. I know the won-loss records of the opponents. But only the Vols are safe.