Transfer portal notebook: Bo Nix-Michael Penix Jr. quarterback matchup worthy of prime time

Eight Pac-12 schools opened the season with transfers at quarterback, the highest percentage of any league, and two of the biggest surprises out of the transfer portal in this cycle are Pac-12 signal-callers.

Big things were expected of USC’s Caleb Williams, and he has delivered. The fits of Jayden de Laura at Arizona and Cameron Ward at Washington State were thought to be good ones, and they have been. Utah’s Cam Rising proved his worth last season, leading the Utes to their first Pac-12 title. But there were tons of questions (and, truthfully, not-so-high expectations) with Bo Nix at Oregon and Michael Penix Jr. at Washington – Nix because of his up-and-down play at Auburn and Penix because of his long injury history at Indiana.

Well, both have turned in monster seasons. Nix is a leading Heisman contender and Penix has a legit chance to lead the nation in passing yards. Nix has Oregon in the running for a College Football Playoff berth, while Penix leads a team that could win as many as 10 games.

Their paths cross Saturday, when No. 25 Washington travels to play No. 6 Oregon at 7 p.m. ET (Fox) in what might be the best game in Week 11.

Penix reconnected with new Huskies coach Kalen DeBoer, who was his offensive coordinator in 2019 when he was a redshirt freshman at Indiana. And Nix has reconnected with new Ducks offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham, who was his OC in 2019 when he was a true freshman at Auburn.

Nix’s progress as a passer has been staggering. He has completed at least 77 percent of his passes in four consecutive games and is at 73.3 percent for the season. At Auburn, he completed 73 percent of his passes in just seven games in three seasons; he never finished a season better than 61 percent. And his 22 TD passes this season are just one fewer than he threw in the past two seasons combined.

As for his work on the ground, he already has rushed for 457 yards and 13 TDs. He rushed for 18 TDs in his Auburn career and never had more than 388 yards in a season.

Nix has accounted for 16 TDs in the past three games. Six times this season he has accounted for at least four TDs in a game.

Washington’s defense had problems in a loss to UCLA in which Bruins quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson threw for 315 yards and three TDs and also in a win over Arizona in which de Laura threw for 400 yards and four touchdowns.

DeBoer on Nix: “I think Nix is playing with a ton of confidence. You can just see the way he’s operating, the game has slowed down for him. Man, I can’t say enough good things about what he’s doing leading that offense. They’re one of the best in the country for a reason.”

Penix, meanwhile, leads the nation with 3,232 passing yards and is 13^th with 23 TD passes. His season-highs at Indiana were 1,645 and 14. Heck, he threw 29 total TD passes in his Hoosiers career. He has thrown for 300 yards in eight of the Huskies’ nine games; he threw for 298 in the other. Penix also has had four games with four TD passes.

That has to worry Oregon coach Dan Lanning and the defensive staff. Oregon’s pass defense has been … well, it has been shaky this season. The Ducks are allowing opposing quarterbacks to complete 65.3 percent of their passes (Penix is at 66.5), for 19 TDs.

Lanning on Penix: “I think obviously his familiarity with the staff has made it a success story quick. He’s a talented player. He throws the ball well and there aren’t a lot of throws that he can’t make. … I think he has a lot of confidence in the guys that he’s throwing to. And, obviously, he’s been able to turn that into success.”

The return of Jake Haener

One transfer quarterback expected to have a big season was Fresno State’s Jake Haener, who threw for 4,096 yards and 33 TDs last season while playing for DeBoer.

The thought was Haener, who transferred from Washington in 2019, would pick up where he left off for new coach Jeff Tedford, who is known to be quite fond of the forward pass himself (and previously employed DeBoer as his OC). But Haener was injured in the week three loss to USC and missed four games. Replacement Logan Fife threw two TD passes and six picks, and never passed for more than 236 in a game.

Haener returned October 29 and threw for 394 yards and three TDs as Fresno State beat San Diego State 32-23. This past Saturday, Haener threw for 327 and four TDs as the Bulldogs blasted Hawaii 55-13. As for whether the long layoff affected his accuracy? Haener is 58-of-74 (78.4 percent) in the two games.

Haener told reporters after the Hawaii rout that it was easy to get back in the grind.

“I honestly didn’t have any jitters last game, either,” he said. “Just needed to get back to it and do a good job in the week and get mentally prepared. … I just think that everything can be solved with preparation. With good preparation, you can feel confident.”

Fresno State is tied with San Jose State for the West Division lead in the Mountain West but owns the tiebreaker thanks to a victory over the Spartans. Fresno State finishes the regular season with games against UNLV, Nevada and Wyoming. The first two are eminently winnable, but the finale against defense-minded Wyoming – currently a game behind Boise State in the Mountain Division – will be a tough one.   

Transfers in the spotlight

Along with the Nix-Penix matchup, there are some other interesting portal stories with this week’s schedule. Here are five.

+ Florida State RB Trey Benson vs. Syracuse: Benson, who transferred from Oregon in the offseason, has taken advantage of leading rusher Treshaun Ward’s injury to become a key cog in the Seminoles’ offense. Benson has rushed for 308 yards in the past three games, and is coming off a 128-yard, two-TD performance in last week’s demolition of Miami. An undersized Syracuse defense has been run over the past three weeks in losses to Clemson, Notre Dame and Pitt. The Orange allowed 700 rushing yards and eight TDs in those losses; that’s 55 percent and 67 percent, respectively, of its nine-game season totals.

+ Illinois RB Chase Brown vs. Purdue WR Charlie Jones: These guys obviously won’t be on the field at the same time, but they’re the leading rusher (1,344 yards) and receiver (83 receptions, 944 yards) in the Big Ten. Brown also leads the nation in rushing; Jones is second in receptions and sixth in yards nationally. Both teams are in the Big Ten West title hunt, with Illinois in better shape than the Boilermakers. Jones figures to have the tougher time Saturday; the Illini lead the nation in pass defense, while Purdue is seventh in the Big Ten in rush defense. But Purdue knows that if it slows Brown, the entire Illini offense will ground to a halt.

+ UCF RB RJ Harvey vs. Tulane: Harvey, an Orlando native, signed with Virginia as a quarterback in the 2019 recruiting class. He left UVa after that season and transferred to UCF. The hometown Knights had recruited Harvey out of perennial power Edgewater High but as a running back. Harvey, who is 5 feet 8, moved to running back when he transferred, but had just two carries in 2020 and missed last season with an injury. It took him a while to establish a depth-chart foothold this season, but he’s now the Knights’ leading rusher. He had 35 carries in the past two games after having just 37 in the first seven contests. He’s a physical runner with a burst, and UCF needs him to come up big in the AAC showdown with Tulane, which is the only unbeaten team in league play.

+ Tennessee QB Hendon Hooker vs. Missouri: This obviously is a must-win for the Vols if they want to remain in the CFP hunt. And Hooker – the Virginia Tech transfer coming off his worst game of the season in the loss to Georgia – must play well if he wants to stay in the Heisman conversation. Mizzou’s pass defense has been good all season. Only three opponents have thrown for more than 200 yards (Georgia, Louisiana Tech and Vanderbilt), with both Bulldogs teams throwing for 300-plus. Can Hooker and the Vols’ offense get back on track?

+ The DBs in Arkansas-LSU: Well, not all of them but three specifically – Arkansas CB Dwight McGlothern, an LSU transfer, and LSU Ss Greg Brooks Jr. and Joe Foucha, who are Arkansas transfers. All three started last season before deciding to move on to new digs. McGlothern is second in the SEC with three interceptions and has six pass breakups. Brooks has 38 tackles, an interception, three pass breakups and a forced fumble. Foucha, who unlike the other two is a backup this season, has 18 tackles, a pick and two pass breakups. While McGlothern has had a solid season, LSU’s secondary has far outperformed Arkansas’.