WSU to face NCAA's most-experienced QB Bo Nix
Oct. 20—Over the last two weeks, Washington State faced two freshman quarterbacks and couldn't rattle the newbies enough to come away with wins.
Now, they'll face the most-experienced quarterback in the history of the NCAA.
WSU's game against No. 14 Oregon will mark the 54th start by Ducks quarterback Bo Nix, passing Boise State's Kellen Moore and Texas' Colt McCoy for most starts by a college quarterback.
Kickoff between the Cougars (4-2, 1-2 Pac-12) and Ducks (5-1, 2-1) is set for 12:30 p.m. Saturday (ABC) at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore..
"I think you have to make sure you're sound because Bo Nix is going to beat you if you're not," WSU coach Jake Dickert said. "He can do it in a variety of different ways. There's probably not a lot of things he hasn't seen."
Nix's experience and arm are big reasons why the Ducks haven't missed a step since the fifth-year senior transferred from Auburn in 2021.
Oregon went 10-3 last season and is 5-1 so far this year with its only loss coming last week to No. 7 Washington, a 36-33 heartbreaker.
After the tough loss, Nix went on a three-minute speech that showed the maturity and wisdom that comes with years of experience on the gridiron.
When asked what it feels like to no longer be in control of their own destiny, he said "We are in control."
"Sometimes you put it all out there and it's not enough and it's frustrating," Nix said. "But that's part of life. Sometimes in life you may get knocked down, you may get fired from a job, you may lose a sale, but I hope that doesn't stop you from going out there and trying to sell something else. This is a great learning lesson for us. There's a lot more to life than football games — I know that for sure."
Words to live by.
The Cougars almost delivered an upset loss to the Ducks last season, but instead came away losers of their own heartbreaker.
WSU led Oregon 34-22 with just 6:42 left in the game before allowing three straight Ducks touchdowns in a five-minute span, including a 50-yard touchdown pass by Nix, and eventually falling 44-41. WSU allowed 29 points in the fourth quarter in that epic collapse.
Nix did throw an interception in that game, but also passed for 428 yards and three TDs.
"Really hard guy to sack because he's really powerful and strong and he's got a breath of experience that you can't match," Dickert said.
This season, Nix is a Heisman contender along with other Pac-12 quarterbacks like Washington's Michael Penix Jr., USC's Caleb Williams and WSU's own Cam Ward (although Ward has dropped a bit over the last two weeks).
Nix enters the game first in the Pac-12 in completion percentage (79.2%), third in passing (299.3 yards per game) and has 17 touchdowns to just one interception.
Those numbers come despite Oregon also having a rushing attack that averages a league-best 223.3 yards per game.
The Cougars showed they can keep pace with Nix and the Ducks last season. They'll have to do it again to avoid their third straight loss in three games.
Wiebe may be contacted at (208) 848-2277, swiebe@lmtribune.com or on Twitter @StephanSports.
