Nix & Bits

[Snaggletiger]

Good AU Undercover piece focusing on Bo Nix and then some quick write ups on this weekend's games.  Nom Nom Nom

SEC Notebook: Nix earns praise, Malzahn on play-calling and more
ByPhillip Marshall 19 hours ago




One game into his sophomore season, Auburn quarterback Bo Nix has made a big impression. Kentucky coach Mark Stoops saw him up close in last Saturday’s 29-13 Auburn victory at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Georgia coach Kirby Smart has seen him on video in preparation for Auburn’s visit to Sanford Stadium on Saturday.

“Just the improvement he had,” Stoops said Wednesday on the weekly SEC teleconference. “He made some exceptional plays in that game. You have to tip your cap to him for some throws he made under duress in some critical moments.”

Smart said he saw the difference immediately. He saw a quarterback who had matured.

“You can put no price tag on experience,” Smart said. “I saw that with Jake Fromm. The first year, you saw simple mistakes. The next year it was ‘OK I know the down and distance better, I know where the yard marker is, I know we are in field goal range so don’t take a sack, I know where I’m going with the ball, I’ve seen this defense already about eight times and I know exactly what to do with the ball.’ With experience, you make better decisions.
Bo Nix has impressed opposing coaches. (Photo: Auburn University)
"It’s very obvious his learning curve is really fast in terms of being able to understand his offense and how to use it. He made some decisions in the last game that last season he wouldn’t have made that decision that fast. You make that decision a split second sooner, it gives that wideout an extra yard to run after the catch. Maybe it’s a big play instead of a catch and tackle. He’s done an excellent job. He’s a really good football player.”

Malzahn said Nix benefitted from a brutal last season, when he emerged as the SEC Freshman of the Year. Nix will be tested on the road Saturday by a defense reputed to be perhaps the nation’s best.

“He played in some of the best atmospheres in college football against some of the best defenses in college football,” Malzahn said. “There’s nothing like experience. You go through it once or twice and you understand what the challenges are and what you have to deal with. It was definitely good for him to experience those hostile environments against really good defenses.”

Go inside for more SEC news and notes.


MALZAHN COMFORTABLE NOT CALLING PLAYS
Malzahn , after keeping play-calling all for himself last season, did an about-face when he hired Chad Morris as his offensive coordinator. He said Wednesday he made the right decision.
“Since I’ve been in this league as a head coach, each year the head coaching job description has gotten more complicated,” Malzahn said. “For me, having a guy like Chad has been very refreshing. With the pandemic and everything that is going on, it would be an extreme challenge for me this year if I’d decided to call plays like I did last year.
“I think it gets tougher and tougher. A lot of guys still do it and are successful doing it, but I knew for me personally, it was the right time.”



FAST START FOR MORRIS AS OC
Morris, Malzahn said, was on his game out of the gate against Kentucky.
“I thought he did an excellent job,” Malzahn said. “I think the challenges this year for the first-year coordinators is they didn’t get to go through spring and iron out all the little things you normally would. For the first game, I thought he did a great job. We played a really good Kentucky defense, too. I think he’s off to a good start and our offense has great potential.”


SMART KNOWS ALL ABOUT AUBURN-GEORGIA
Smart has no doubt that the Georgians who make up some one-third of Auburn’s roster will play with an added edge in Saturday’s game. They always do. He saw it when he was a player and he’s seen it four times as Georgia’s head coach.
“I think it’s that way all the time,” Smart said. “I think it’s that way in coaching. It doesn’t necessarily mean we didn’t want them. We wanted a lot of those guys and got beat on them. It’s a matter of you play with a chip on your shoulder because it’s your home state. I think it’s the same way with our kids from the state of Alabama.”


ORGERON: LSU MUST IMPROVE
After losing to Mississippi State and Mike Leach’s Air Raid offense 44-34, LSU coach Ed Orgeron acknowledged the obvious. The Bayou Bengals, with just five starters back from last season’s national championship team, must get better.
“We could have made some better adjustments (on defense),” Orgeron said. “Obviously, more zone would help. I believe, with the spread offenses, it’s like basketball on grass. They are going to score points. The days of holding people to 10 points are going to be few and far between. We have to keep up with them.”


MULLEN HAWKING TICKETS FOR SATURDAY’S GAME
Believe it or not, Florida coach Dan Mullen was calling on Florida fans on Wednesday to buy tickets for Saturday’s game in the Swamp against South Carolina. With attendance limited to some 17,000, tickets are available.
“They can come see their Gators play and get in the Swamp on a beautiful fall afternoon for our home opener,” Mullen s said.
Mullen speculated that fans didn’t know they could still buy tickets.
“We just need to get the word out,” Mullen said. “They can call the ticket office. Tickets are still available. I don’t think people know.”


SABAN: ‘ANYBODY CAN BEAT ANYBODY’
If the first week in this season of COVID-19 is any indication, the SEC is going to be as unpredictable as it has ever been. Alabama coach Nick Saban speculated that any team can lose at any time.
“I don’t think there is any question about it,” Saban said. “I think, from top to bottom, there was nobody that was really dominant and nobody what you would call not so good. The parity in the league, for whatever reasons you might try to point to, is very good this year. It’s going to be very challenging, because you are going to have to play week in and week out. I think basically anybody can beat anybody.”


MUSCHAMP LOOKS FORWARD TO RETURN TO FLORIDA
On Saturday, South Carolina coach Will Muschamp will return to Florida, where he was fired as head coach by then-athletics director Jeremy Foley at the end of the 2014 season. He said he looks forward to the trip and harbors no bitterness.
“Great university. Outstanding program,” Muschamp said. “I’ve been fortunate to be around a lot of great programs – LSU, Auburn, played at Georgia, here at South Carolina and Florida. I consider myself very lucky for the opportunities I’ve had.
“Jeremy and I had a great conversation for about 10 minutes before we played last year. Had a great conversation. I’m sure I’ll see him there Saturday. Some of the faces aren’t the same, but there are a lot of people in the building I have tremendous respect for.”


FISHER SEES MUCH TO LIKE
Even in a harrowing 17-12 escape against lowly Vanderbilt, third-year Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher found reason for encouragement.  Most of the Aggies’ problems, Fisher said, were self-inflicted.
The Aggies will need to play significantly better. They go to Bryant-Denny Stadium to play No. 2 Alabama.
“I think our kids were excited to play,” Fisher said. “I think we played well in the game at times, and at times we didn’t. We have to take care of the ball better. Our team did some things they had to do, made some critical plays and we got two big turnovers from our defense. We got to run the clock out in the four-minute offense.”


A DIFFERENT KIND OF CHALLENGE
Lane Kiffin will remember his first season at Ole Miss as one unlike anything he expected. The Rebels lost 51-35 to No. 3 Florida on Saturday in Oxford, but that’s just part of the story.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kiffin was not on the field with his team for the first time until Aug. 17. Of his 10 assistant coaches, he’s only worked with one previously.
“That’s been a big challenge,” Kiffin said. “We just had our first game together. We’ve got 10 assistant coaches, nine of them I’ve never worked with. I think you get better in time with communication and everything. Hopefully we will.”


ARKANSAS BRACES FOR PASSING BARRAGE
Arkansas, which lost 37-17 to Georgia at home last Saturday, gets a taste of Mississippi State and Mike Leach’s Air Raid on Saturday in Starkville.
First-year coach Sam Pittman said it’s clear what his defense needs to do to slow down the Bulldogs. Doing it is the hard part.
“You have to get them on the ground,” Pittman said. “They’ll take whatever you give them, basically. You have to tackle them.  I don’t know that you can contest every throw. Once they get guys open, we have to get them on the ground and we have to disrupt the quarterback.”


SEC SCHEDULE FOR OCT. 3
Here is Saturday’s SEC schedule:
No. 7 Auburn (1-0) at No. 4 Georgia (1-0), 6:30 p.m., ESPN
Missouri (0-1) at No. 21 Tennessee (1-0), 11 a.m., SEC Network
South Carolina (0-1) at No. 3 Florida (1-0), 11 a.m., ESPN
No. 13 Texas A&M (1-0) at No. 2 Alabama (1-0), 2:30 p.m., CBS
Ole Miss (0-1) at Kentucky (0-1), 3 p.m., SEC Network
Arkansas (0-1) at No. 16 Mississippi State (1-0), 6:30 p.m., SEC Network
No. 20 LSU (0-1) at Vanderbilt (0-1), 6:30 p.m., SEC Network
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[WiregrassTiger]

I firmly believe we can win. I like our chances even though they seem to think a qb change is just what the doctor ordered.

Our o line hasn’t shown up and that’s for certain but hopefully the run game gets going by opening up the playbook some. A few big pass plays can do wonders for the run game.

We are pretty level with them talent wise I believe and I think we have an edge in coaching. Time to see. As you are aware, I am usually right.