Bo Nix’s season under center appears to be over.
Nix suffered a suspected broken ankle against Mississippi State at home on Saturday which will require surgery for the starter to properly heal. This injury means Nix will be unavailable for the remaining two or three games on the Tigers’ schedule, depending on their upcoming bowl eligibility status.
Auburn, at home, went up three touchdowns over the Bulldogs in the first half with Nix throwing at a career-high 78% percentage rate and accounting for two of the scores on touchdown tosses. A first half of hot offense wasn’t enough for the Tigers as they eventually fell 43-28 after a dominant second-half performance by Mississippi State.
Auburn’s all-time leading quarterback in total yards stood tall in the pocket under pressure and delivered a deep ball to Ja'Varrius Johnson on third-down to extend a drive. After the pass, a State linemen fell on Nix’s lower body, appearing to be the play and cause for the injury as the quarterback appeared to be in pain and lumbered to the sideline after the end of the drive.
Despite his in-the-air physical status, Nix stayed in the game for three more drives after the suspected injury-causing play and even drove a portion of the field once before being pulled out of the game for his safety.
The injury will reportedly require at least one surgery for the starter to properly heal, with a procedure possibly scheduled for as early as the Monday following the weekend. The news of the injury was first reported by Cam Gaskins on Sunday and later confirmed by Nix on his Instagram account on Sunday evening.
Nix was completing a career-high 61% of his passes in his third-year as a starter and led the Tigers to two Top-10 victories. The 2021 season is highlighted by the first Auburn victory in LSU’s Death Valley in over 21 years, headed by Nix’s ability to extend plays and unrelentingly find his way to the end zone in one of the most hostile environments that he’ll face.
Nix’s "road to recovery” will start this week as Auburn prepares for its third prime-time match of the season against South Carolina on the road.
LSU transfer quarterback T.J. Finley is expected to make his first start as a blue-and-orange Tiger with redshirt freshman Dematrius Davis backing him up. Neither player has seen significant playing time this season.
*This story has been edited to add updates.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
Larry is a senior studying journalism with a minor in sociology. He is from Enterprise, Alabama and is in his third year with The Auburn Plainsman.
Twitter: @ReportingLarry
