For all the father-son comparisons that will be made between former Auburn quarterback Patrick Nix and current Auburn quarterback Bo Nix, providing an instant impact will be a tough similarity to top.
Midway through the third quarter of the 1993 Iron Bowl, sophomore Patrick Nix replaced injured senior starter Stan White and completed a 35-yard touchdown pass to Frank Sanders on fourth-and-15. The surprising score cut Alabama’s lead to 14-12, and the Tigers would produce the final 17 points of a 22-14 win that capped an 11-0 season.
Fast-forward to last Saturday night in Arlington, Texas, and Patrick Nix watched from the crowd as his son threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Seth Williams with nine seconds remaining to propel the No. 16 Tigers to a riveting 27-21 triumph over No. 11 Oregon. Auburn scored the final 21 points against the Ducks, giving Bo Nix a dream-like outcome in his inaugural start as a true freshman.
“I would have never thought the game would have ended like that, to be honest, especially the first one,” Bo Nix said late Saturday night in a news conference. “We would not have been in the situation had the defense not played out of their minds in the second half. After the first quarter, they gave up seven points, and that’s a huge defensive stand for any team. So we just really had all the momentum in the second half.
“They got us a huge fourth-down stop, and we started moving the ball. We got the ball back with two minutes. Finally, it was our turn to make a play, and thankfully we did it.”