Auburn’s defense is its strength, but Nix will determine if Tigers win the Iron Bowl
It’s an exhausted point by now: Auburn’s defense is one of the nation’s top units.
Samford had 35 yards of total offense at halftime, in a game where the Tigers took care of business against an outmatched Bulldogs team, cruising to a 52-0 win. Take away the Bulldogs’ first drive, which was filled with trick plays and odd pre-snap formations, and that number drops further.
The 35 yards total offense by Samford is the fewest given up by an Auburn defense in the first half since the 2003 Western Kentucky game (11 yards). It’s the fewest in any half since the 2004 Kentucky game, when Auburn held the Wildcats to 22 second-half yards, according to Auburn Athletics. Auburn held Samford to 117 total yards, the fewest since Georgia Southern finished with 78 yards in 2017.
Bulldogs punter Bradley Porcellato had 169 punting yards in the game’s first 30 minutes. Auburn quarterback Bo Nix threw for around 30 fewer yards in the same time frame. The Tigers forced four turnovers, and probably could have come up with three or four more.
Yes, that was all against Samford, a team that truthfully had no business playing at Jordan-Hare Stadium in late November. But the Tigers defense has put up similar performances against nearly every team on its schedule.
This is all par for the course for this unit, which will face a much tougher challenge this week against Alabama, even though the Crimson Tide will be without starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
This week, though, the responsibility falls on the other side of the ball. While the defense remains Auburn’s clear strength, the Tigers offense is going to have to show a pulse against a good team for the first time all season when No. 5 Alabama comes into town.
“This will be our fifth top-10 opponent,” Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said. “It won’t be a shock to our system. We’re really hoping that it’ll be an advantage for us.”
It could be an advantage, especially considering this is a home game for the Tigers. But the offense simply has not shown up — outside of a 15-minute spell against No. 4 Georgia (and mainly because the Bulldogs dropped into zone coverage) — against the top teams on Auburn’s schedule.
The Tigers rank 55th nationally in total offense, behind the likes of Ohio, Nebraska and Charlotte. Nix, against top-25 opponents, has completed under 50% of his passes and has thrown six interceptions.
Alabama ranks 13th nationally in passing yards allowed, and has given up around six yards per attempt on the season. Compare that to Georgia’s defense, which has surrendered 5.59 yards per completion this season, and a team Nix struggled against before the Bulldogs went into zone coverage in the fourth quarter.
Nix threw for 122 yards in the first three quarters against Georgia, and averaged a measly 7.2 yards per completion.
“He’s learned this year against the toughest defenses in college football with the schedule,” Malzahn said of Nix. “This is another one. That really helps your learning curve. It accelerates learning, and I think he’s got a good command of our offense and the personnel that we have around him.”
The positive buried in Nix’s struggles this year is that he’s not been a turnover machine. He’s thrown six interceptions, and three of those came in the loss to No. 8 Florida.
But Alabama leads the nation in turnover margin (10 fumble recoveries, four interceptions), so he’ll need to continue that trend Saturday.
“They’re going to be very well coached and well prepared,” Nix said of Alabama’s defense. “They’re going to be very sound at what they do, we just have to find ways to make explosive plays and move the ball consistently.”
Nix has endured a fair share of criticism this year.
Most of it was warranted: the freshman threw for just 100 yards against Texas A&M, threw three interceptions against Florida and never got into much of a rhythm against No. 1 LSU or Georgia. But despite Nix’s struggles, there remains reason for optimism.
Nix threw for 340 yards, his second 300-yard outing of the season against Ole Miss. His completions (30) and attempts (44) set Auburn records vs. Ole Miss, and his 340 passing yards are the third-most all-time against Ole Miss. His final quarter against Georgia showcased what Malzahn’s offense can look like with a comfortable and in-rhythm quarterback.
Nix threw for 150 yards and one touchdown against Samford, in rainy conditions that didn’t require him to throw much. The rushing attack also showed up, as one would expect, against Samford.
So did the defense, which will once again be tasked with keeping a ranked team in striking distance should Auburn’s offense sputter on Saturday.
