Oregon
Oregon football quarterback Bo Nix sets a few more records before heading off to the NFL
GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Bo Show — as entertaining as it was successful — wrapped up its two-year run at Oregon Monday afternoon.
And the star, quarterback Bo Nix, made sure to leave with a few records.
Nix led the Ducks to one last victory before heading off to the NFL, as he threw for five touchdowns and 363 yards in Oregon’s 45-6 win against Liberty in the Fiesta Bowl at State Farm Stadium.
During the game he broke Marcus Mariota’s single-season school records for yards and touchdowns as his 14-game 2023 totals increased to 4,508 and 45, respectively.
Mariota had 4,454 and 42 during his Heisman Trophy winning season.
“I played good football this year because of the opportunity and the situation that I was in,” Nix said. “It wasn’t difficult to go out there and play with the guys that I was around. … As a team, I felt like we set the bar really high. We had a standard and we just wanted to go out there and match it every Saturday.”
Nix also extended his single-season school record for completions to 364 as he completed 28-of-35 passes to also set the NCAA single-season record for completion percentage at 77.45%.
“That completion percentage is important because it speaks to a lot of people,” Nix said. “It doesn’t speak to just one person. Everybody that the ball is thrown to, they gotta catch it and they got to do something with it. And then you’ve got to protect too. Everybody was included. So I think it’s just a great team accomplishment. I think it was just an awesome way for this year to conclude.”
Nix, who finished third in Heisman Trophy voting in December and was the Pac-12 offensive player of the year, said he knew the records were out there for the taking coming into the game and credited the coaching staff for setting him up to have success.
“It was hard not to think about it because you’re so close to something that you worked so hard for and that the season has led up to,” Nix said. “I just give praise to the coaches. I think they did a good job of calling the game and when they call the game like they do, and we go out and execute, it just kind of happens.”
With that, Nix’s collegiate career came to end after five seasons of being the starter at Auburn (2019-21) and Oregon (2022-23).
He was 22-5 with the Ducks, with wins in two bowl games.
“He’s done a lot for this program,” said coach Dan Lanning, who’s never had another starting quarterback at Oregon other than Nix. “He’s played a lot of elite ball and we’re really proud of him.”
One of Nix’s losses this season came in the Pac-12 championship game on Dec. 1, a loss that motivated him to play in the Fiesta Bowl during a time when several of his projected first-round draft pick peers are opting out of the postseason.
“I wanted to go out and compete one more time,” Nix said. “I wanted to go out and play another game. And with the year that we had, it would have been a shame if I didn’t go out there and compete with the guys who who made it all possible. … After what happened on Dec. 1, I couldn’t wait to go back out there and compete one more time and if I had the opportunity I was going to go use it.”
Nix leaves as the NCAA record-holder for starts by quarterback with 61. He’s also second all-time with 17,344 career yards, fourth with 152 touchdowns, sixth with 15,352 passing yards and seventh with 1,286 completions.
“I feel like I have played a lot of football, but you know, every time I went out there, it slowed down more and more and by the end of it, I just had a really comfortable feeling,” Nix said. “I think this year with what we were doing offensively, schematically, we’re very efficient and part of that is because the players we have on our side of the ball, and you know, it’s been a great career.”
Follow Chris Hansen on Twitter @chansen_RG or email at chansen@registerguard.com
Ahead of a massive Week 5 showdown between two of the Big Ten’s primary contenders, Oregon visiting Penn State, college football analyst David Pollack broke down the game and explained which side he’s giving the edge to on Saturday evening.
An episode of Pollack’s podcast, See Ball Get Ball, dropped on Wednesday and featured the former All-American’s picks for the top games of the week, which he paired with some in-depth commentary behind why he’s selected the teams and final scores that he has. For the big one, Oregon at Penn State, he explained why the Nittany Lions could have a few aces hiding up their sleeve.
“Penn State ain’t hasn’t had show nothing yet, and they haven’t showed nothing yet,” Pollack said of PSU’s soft open to their 2025 schedule. “Listen, (Andy) Kotelnecki, with a preseason tune-up, he knows exactly who he is, he knows what he is, like, they’re going to score some points,” he added.
Penn State ran off wins against Nevada, FIU and Villanova before taking their bye week ahead of Oregon. En route to outscoring those poor souls by a 132-17 total score, Pollack’s right, Penn State didn’t have to dive deep into their bag. He referenced Georgia’s performance vs. Tennessee from a couple weeks ago, noting that the Nittany Lions have an established ground game to pair with whatever new tricks are introduced in the passing game.
“The run game beat up Oregon a year ago,” Pollack commented. “The run game can be exactly the same as it was, if not better. The receiving corps cannot be worse, and I just think, with all of that, I’m betting on Penn State and I’m betting on who they have, their experience.”
The heads of that strong ground game are senior running backs Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen, contributors since the day they stepped on campus, while quarterback Drew Allar is a veteran returning starter with NFL aspirations. That’s a lot of experience for PSU, whereas Oregon has a younger transfer leading the charge in former UCLA QB Dante Moore.
“I think Jim Knowles will have something for Dante Moore that he’s absolutely never seen before in an atmosphere that’s going to be absolutely ballistic,” Pollack emphasized. “I think Dante Moore is going to look more human than he’s looked, and because of that, they could struggle a little bit. They’re not going to get to 45 like they did a year ago in the Big Ten championship game.”
With the experience edge and having the Ducks migrate across all three time zones to touch down in a “ballistic” Beaver Stadium, Pollack sees too much evidence going in Penn State’s direction for the victory.
“I got the Nittany Lions, man,” he stated. “I got 30-24 Penn State, they take care of business. All of the guys on the front who can make plays, they can get to the quarterback, they can get TFLs. They can rattle Dante Moore and I think they take care of business.”
EUGENE — Oregon’s current starting quarterback could reach out to one of his predecessors ahead of the biggest road game of his career.
Dante Moore visited Penn State as a recruit on Sept. 18, 2021, when the Nittany Lions hosted Auburn and then-Tigers quarterback Bo Nix for a White Out game at Beaver Stadium.
“At the time I didn’t know much of Bo as a person and of course as a player,” Moore said. “He was there throwing a lot of great passes … he was a competitor. The stadium was really loud of course.”
Nix was 21 of 37 for 185 yards and had six carries for 29 yards in a 28-20 loss to Penn State, which has extended its win streak in White Out game to six entering Saturday’s game with No. 6 Oregon.
“It was one of those that once you play in you know why everybody talks about it and speaks so highly of it,” Nix said in an interview with The Next Round days following that game. “It was fun. It was loud and it was exactly what an away game should feel like.”
Moore was reminded of the experience of visiting Happy Valley and seeing his high school teammate, former Penn State safety Jaylen Reed, play against Nix four years ago. He plans to talk to Nix this week about what it was like to play in what is widely considered the toughest road environment in the Big Ten and one of the toughest in college football.
“The stadium was really loud,” Moore said. “Understanding how Bo, how composed he was. Of course, I hope I have the chance to talk to him and hear his thoughts. It’s going to be a great week; it’s going to be a great game. It’s going to be a hostile environment. But I’m going to reach out to Bo for sure to see what things he has to tell me.”
Moore is completing 74.7% of his passes this season for 962 yards with 11 touchdowns and one interception and added 87 yards rushing. But Penn State is the best opposing defense he will have ever faced and a crowd of over 100,000 makes it even more challenging.
Penn State coach James Franklin said Oregon’s offense is operating similarly with Moore as it did last season with Dillon Gabriel, who led the Ducks past the Nittany Lions in the Big Ten Championship game.
“He’s a throw-first guy,” Franklin said. “Is very accurate. Can extend plays. Obviously, has a ton of play playmakers around him. … I think Dante sitting behind Gabriel was really valuable for his development.”
No. 6 Oregon (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) at No. 3 Penn State (3-0)
- When: Saturday, Sept. 27
- Time: 4:30 p.m. PT
- Where: Beaver Stadium, University Park, PA
- TV channel: NBC/Peacock
- Watch: You can watch this game live for free with Fubo (free trial), with DirecTV (free trial) or streaming live on demand with Peacock.
- Stream: DirecTV (free trial) or Fubo (promotional offers) or Peacock ($10.99/month) or Sling (college football season pass is just $199). Streaming broadcasts for this game will be available on these streaming services locally in Oregon and Washington, but may not be available outside of the Pacific Northwest, depending on your location.
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It was quite the uneventful week in college football, at least for the top teams in the US LBM Coaches poll, including the Oregon Ducks after their 34-14 road win at Northwestern.
The top seven teams in the poll didn’t go up or down from last week. Oregon is still No. 5 in the country as they now prepare for the annual rivalry game with Oregon State at Autzen Stadium. But everyone is pointing to the next game after the Beavers, however.
Oregon goes to Penn State, which is ranked No. 2 in the poll and will likely stay at No. 2 as the Nittany Lions have a bye this week. The Big Ten dominates the poll with Ohio State on top at No. 1 after its 37-9 win over Ohio. Illinois is also in the Top 10 as the Illini are No. 9 in this week’s version of the poll.
Indiana moved up two spots at No. 17 with its 73-0 win over Indiana State.
The biggest move came from Georgia Tech after the Yellow Jackets stunned Clemson 24-21 on a last-second field goal. As a result, the Tigers, previously ranked No. 11, dropped to 1-2 on the season and completely out of the poll.
Besides Georgia Tech, Missouri (No. 22), Vanderbilt (No. 23) and Auburn (No. 25) are newcomers to the poll.
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