Yanish Weekly: Bodacious Bo Nix, QB, Oregon

Bo Nix is a name that draws some mixed reviews. After following in his father’s footsteps to play quarterback (QB) at Auburn, he didn’t exactly shine there.

However, that certainly changed with new surroundings when he bolted for Oregon.

Now, after the 42-6 win over Colorado, he’s one of the brightest stars that exists in all of college football.

Turning our attention to that game

Colorado came into this one with a head of steam fueled by sports media, and in all probability, it was only a matter of time before the Buffaloes (No. 18) ran head-first into a higher-ranked buzzsaw.

That’s exactly what happened – – facing No. 10 Oregon.

Ducks head coach Dan Lanning said it best when firing up his team prior to the game and it all caught up to Colorado as Nix did his thing.

Game details

Nix was on fire from the start.

He didn’t throw an incompletion until the end of the first quarter. At the end of the game, his stat line read 28-of-33 with 276 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception. All that while hitting 10 different receivers with an 84.8% completion percentage.

Nix added one rushing touchdown to boot.

All four of his combined touchdowns came in the first half. Oregon was up 35-0 at halftime, and it ended 42-6. Game over.

Nix from a scouting perspective

I stand by my original preseason scouting report of Nix. I certainly cannot be handing out first-round grades left and right. This is different, though. Everything from his leadership to him being absolutely lethal with his arm at all route levels, screams first-round.

His feet have a resume of their own. He has 33 TDs on the ground to date with a 3.9-yard average over his career. That is with the college negative sack-yardage built-in. Speaking of sacks, he has only taken three sacks in four games so far in 2023.

So many QBs today have the physical traits.

However, the thing that you have to look at also is how a QB leads his team.

-Is he clutch?

-Do his teammates show they respect him as you are watching the games?

-Bottom line: Can he pull his teammates together and come up big with the win?

Oregon is now 4-0 on the season.

Nix is all that. He loves the game.

Looking forward

I have November 11 circled on my calendar – – that’s when Oregon goes toe-to-toe with the reigning Heisman winner, quarterback Caleb Williams, and the USC Trojans.

That game just might have PAC-12 Championship and Heisman Trophy implications.

In fact, in the second half of the year, Oregon will be running into a lot of the big QB names. Names like Michael Penix Jr. (Washington), Cameron Ward (Washington State), and Cameron Rising (Utah) are still on the schedule. The PAC-12 will certainly not disappoint this year.

With Nix’s new-found national attention and a 2023 stat line that includes 11 total TDs against only one interception, college football pundits and scouts alike, need to be looking his way.

Game film evidence

Colorado vs Oregon

William Yanish III is a lifelong football fan. He’s from the little town of Crawford, Colorado. Along the way, he’s lived in Dutch Harbor, Alaska, and Brookings, Oregon. Quarterback Joe Montana was his idol growing up. A little bit of CTE from life’s adventures killed his dreams as a football player. Now, he is an aspiring writer and Draft Analyst at FirstRoundMock.com. He’s a fanatic with a dream, which is coming true.