As the adage goes, "Everything's bigger in Texas."
The hair, the clothes — even the personalities shine bright. And when Auburn and Oregon face off Saturday, the quarterbacks taking the field will be looking to live up to that with their play.
On one side, there's Bo Nix, the son of former Auburn quarterback Patrick Nix and the first true freshman to start a season opener for Auburn in 73 years. On the other end you have Justin Herbert, a potential first-round pick in the upcoming NFL draft.
Like Nix, destiny seemed to carefully select Herbert to quarterback his respective school. He grew up in Eugene, Oregon, close enough to Autzen Stadium to hear the team practicing while tossing the football around in the backyard as a kid.
Some see Herbert as one of the best quarterbacks in all of college football, along with SEC quarterbacks Jake Fromm and Tua Tagovailoa.
Auburn offensive tackle Jack Driscoll thinks that Nix is ready to rise to the occasion and put himself in that same category.
"I think he's definitely in that caliber of player. I think you guys will see on Saturday night that he's in that group of players," Driscoll told reporters Tuesday. "Obviously, we don't 100 percent know going into the game, but some of the plays he makes and the throws he makes are spectacular."
Driscoll isn't worried about the fact that Nix is just the second true freshman quarterback to start a season opener since 1946.
"I think he's mature enough where he's not going to let going against Justin Herbert or Jake Fromm bother him — that he's ready for the challenge and he's ready to step up for the challenge," Driscoll said.
While the Auburn offense feels that Nix can hold his own against some of the best quarterbacks in the country, Auburn's defense knows that they must be prepared to go up against one of the best quarterbacks in the country.
Senior safety Jeremiah Dinson said he's ready for the challenge of going up against Herbert and the Ducks offense.
"You know, being at Auburn, you want these types of matchups," Dinson said. "We know what we're going to face. He's an NFL-caliber quarterback. He's a good quarterback. I've been studying since this summer and this past week. He can throw the ball so it's going to be a good challenge for us."
No. 16 Auburn and No. 11 Oregon will kick off in AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, at 6:30 p.m. CST Saturday night. The game will be broadcast on ABC.
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