Everyone who follows Auburn football was interested in seeing how Bo Nix would handle the season opener against Akron. What would Auburn look like without Gus Malzahn, and how would Nix respond to the new scheme of coach Bryan Harsin?
By Matt Zemek
Yes, Akron is a terrible team. The Zips are likely to win no more than two or three games this year. Auburn was favored by almost 40 points. You’re not going to learn too much about a team in that kind of situation. Nevertheless, Nix failed to develop under Malzahn, who struggled to develop home-grown quarterback recruits at Auburn. Gus took transfers Nick Marshall and Jarrett Stidham and made very good use of the skills he inherited with each of them, but he didn’t create good quarterbacks from original recruits. Could Harsin take a damaged product – Bo Nix – and make him better? We won’t really begin to know until Auburn meets quality opposition, and that point is worth emphasizing heading into this weekend against Alabama State. That said, if Game 1 against Akron did provide any information at all, the returns were definitely encouraging.
Auburn scored 60 points. Nix definitely looked comfortable and rejuvenated. He was not the confused and unresponsive quarterback Auburn fans saw a year ago. Again, Akron is not a true test of a quarterback, but Nix did show an understanding of what to do on the field. That’s a step forward, and it gives Auburn fans hope that maybe this season won’t be a total mess after all.
1 – Get through this game healthy
Whether Auburn wins this game is not in question. The key is to create a healthy roster which is physically fresh for the tough battles to come. Harsin needs to rotate a lot of bodies in and out of the lineup. This is a game in which Harsin and the rest of the staff need to be very conscious of which people get snaps, being mindful of the four-game “redshirt rule” and making choices over who gets into the game and who doesn’t. The players who should get a lot of run in this game are the players who aren’t starters but are counted on to be primary backups and who are expected to play in several games (meaning that they aren’t redshirt candidates). These guys need to get seasoning so that when the games get tougher, Harsin has a much better idea of what he has at these positions.
2 – Simple playbook
With Penn State coming up on Sept. 18, Auburn doesn’t want to make its offense predictable or easy to figure out. This is a game in which Harsin and his staff don’t want to tip their hand or create tendencies which might be sniffed out by a strong Penn State defense which limited Wisconsin to only 10 points. In many ways, Auburn – though not playing Penn State this week – needs to handle this game with Penn State in mind. If Auburn does use some complicated or nuanced plays which Penn State can study on film, those plays need to set up wrinkles or variations the Tigers can use to fool the Nittany Lions a week later.
3 – Killer instinct on defense
The Penn State team Auburn faces next week is vulnerable on offense. Auburn needs to see if it can pitch a shutout and not relax on any possession against Alabama State. That would establish a mindset which would prepare the Tigers for a 60-minute battle against Penn State next week.
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