Editor of the Opelika-Auburn News Justin Lee delivered a forceful statement regarding Bo Nix’s Heisman loss. He described the conclusion of the Auburn football player’s career as imperfect and, in the end, extended forgiveness to the Pinson product for his imperfectly human collegiate career, which spanned three years with the Tigers and two years at Oregon.
This year, Jayden Daniels was my top choice for Heisman. 2. Penix Michael 3. Bo Nix,” Lee began, then clarified, “No, Bo was not the winner. Nor did his time at Auburn finish the way he had hoped. His legacy is not flawless. It is a human being.
In the Ducks’ two losses to Washington this season—in the final Pac-12 Championship game and in Seattle during the most significant conference matchup of the regular season—Nix showed his humanity, but even in those games, he scored multiple touchdowns and even racked up 339 passing yards during the regular season loss. Washington proved to be his weak point during his two years in Eugene; he suffered a serious injury in the 2022 game at Autzen. Despite this setback, Nix managed to make it to New York in 2023 for the Heisman Trophy award ceremony thanks to 11 victories over every opponent on the schedule that wasn’t UW
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Jayden Daniels’ Heisman Trophy campaign came to an end when Nix’s Ducks lost the Pac-12 Championship because Nix had no chance of winning the trophy by the end of the season unless he carried the College Football Playoff narrative with him. That was only brought to New York by Michael Penix of Washington, and neither he nor Nix could match Daniels’ outrageous passing and rushing totals. or even remotely approach.
In a 48-18 rout against Auburn on October 14, Daniels’ 418 all-purpose yards undoubtedly bolstered the LSU quarterback’s Heisman Trophy candidacy. With that, Auburn has now been defeated by four Heisman winners in the past five years.
