Bo Nix led the NCAA in passing yards this season. Courtesy | Oregon Live
After three mediocre seasons as quarterback for the Auburn University Tigers, Bo Chapman Nix decided to enter the transfer portal.
Two years later, as a fifth-year senior, Nix has led the University of Oregon Ducks to an 11-1 season, in which they will play for the PAC-12 conference title this Friday, Dec. 1. He has also proved himself worthy of the prestigious Heisman Memorial Trophy, which is awarded to the most valuable player in college football each year.
Nix, who is currently favored by BetMGM to win the Heisman this year, has had his best year yet in his final college football season. The Pinson, Alabama, native threw for 3,906 passing yards this season, second only to former Oregon quarterback and Heisman trophy winner Marcus Mariota for the single-season passing yards record. Nix is also second in single-season passing touchdowns at Oregon with 37, right behind Mariota in that statistic as well.
Nix’s season has not only broken records at Oregon, but it has shown him to be the best player in college football this year. His 3,906 passing yards leads all NCAA DI quarterbacks, and he only trails in passing touchdowns to Louisiana State University’s Jayden Daniels. Nix’s 78.8% completion rating also leads the NCAA this year. According to ESPN, Nix leads all PAC-12 quarterbacks in just about any passing statistic this year, outplaying this season’s earlier Heisman frontrunner Caleb Williams of the University of Southern California.
Although there are a few passing categories in which Daniels has been dominant this year, the LSU Tigers have only gone 9-3 this season, with losses to the Florida State Seminoles, and SEC rivals the University of Alabama and Ole Miss. Meanwhile, Oregon’s only loss this season came against the third-ranked University of Washington Huskies, who they would play against in the PAC-12 Championship, losing on a missed field goal to end the game. Nix, however, was flawless, completing 33 passes for 337 yards and two touchdowns.
Unlike LSU, Oregon has dominated its other conference rivals this season. Last Saturday, Nov. 25, the Ducks defeated their biggest rival, the No. 16 Oregon State University Beavers, in the game formerly referred to as the “Civil War.” Nix again completed 33 passes for over 300 passing yards with two touchdowns in a 31-6 rout of the Beavers. Nix was also stellar in victories over the University of California, Berkeley Golden Bears, USC Trojans, and Utah Utes, all of whom were ranked in the AP Poll at one point this season.
Nix has also had his stellar season without a single senior wide receiver. Troy Franklin and Tez Johnson, who were respectively Oregon’s leading receivers this season, are both in their third season of college football. Franklin has led the PAC-12 in receiving yards with 1,349, and receiving touchdowns with 14 during the regular season.
An 11-1 season, a chance for a conference title, and being the leading passer in NCAA DI football this season, is all anyone should need to know that Bo Nix has earned the 2023 Heisman Trophy.