Bo Nix won’t be playing in this year’s Iron Bowl, but that didn’t stop the Auburn quarterback from stoking the rivalry’s flames on Monday.
Nix, who had surgery to repair an ankle injury earlier this month, made an appearance on The Next Round where he was asked if he saw Alabama’s game against Arkansas over the weekend. The Crimson Tide held on for a 42-35 win over the Razorbacks behind a record-setting performance from quarterback Bryce Young, who completed 31 of 40 passes for 559 yards and five touchdowns.
Nix did catch the game but didn’t come off too impressed, noting that Arkansas moved the ball well against Alabama while also insinuating that the Tide benefited from a few breaks from the referees.
“Just a few of those obviously controversial calls that were in that game raises some questions for sure — I guess, unless you’re an Alabama fan,” Nix said. “That’s just part of the game, we’ve discussed it over and over and over. That’s not going to change, no matter what happens.”
To be fair, Nix wasn’t alone in his criticism. There were several complaints across social media as fans and analysts alike voiced their complaints.
One controversial call came in the second quarter as Arkansas receiver Warren Thompson was ruled short of the end zone as it was determined that his knee was down inside the 1-yard line upon review. Razorbacks running back Dominique Johnson then broke across the goal line on the following play, but the touchdown was not awarded until the call on the field was overturned by replay.
Another heavily-criticized call came in the fourth quarter when Bryce Young connected with Jameson Williams for a 40-yard touchdown to put Alabama up by two possessions. Williams appeared to be bobbling the ball a bit while making a diving catch in the end zone. However, it was ruled that he gained control of the ball before his left elbow hit out of bounds in the back of the end zone.
“Legitimately, I think you can watch the game and anybody unbiased will think that something is different,” Nix said. “But it is what it is. It’s kind of how it’s always been. But that’s part of the game.”
Later in the day, Young was asked for his response to Nix’s remarks.
"That's an external factor,” Young said. “That's something as a team we don't look at, we don't control. Whatever happens that’s out of our control, Coach Saban’s always talked about us about making sure what we can control and focus on what we can do. Any external factor, that's not something we're concerned about."
Nix did go on to say that Alabama has good players and “you can’t take that away from them.” However, this is hardly the first time the Auburn quarterback has made headlines concerning the Iron Bowl rivalry.
Before last year’s game, Nix raised eyebrows when he said that Alabama quarterback Mac Jones “does a great job managing the game.” Jones went on to complete 18 of 26 passes for 302 yards and five touchdowns without an interception while leading the Tide to a 42-13 victory over the Tigers. Following the game, Alabama tweeted a poster reading “Manager material” with Jones in the forefront and a silhouette of Nix in the background.
Over the summer, Nix backed up Auburn defensive lineman Tony Fair, who posted on social media that the Tigers are “comin to take the head off the ELEPHANT" this season.
“That quote, obviously it’s a confident quote, but I hope he’s coming to take the head off the elephant. I hope he’s not coming to get the head taken off the tiger,” Nix said when asked about the post during SEC Media Days. “Actually, I like the quote. I think it’s important because we’re not scared of Alabama. I know that a lot of people want us to be scared, but we’re really not. … I’m excited. I’m happy he said that because everybody at Auburn should come in with the mindset of beating Alabama.
“It’s important to us. It’s important to me. Obviously, I understand how it is, beating them in 2019. We have a lot of guys on our team that have beaten them.”
During his appearance at SEC Media Days, Nix also said that last season’s game against Alabama was closer than it appeared on the scoreboard.
“They had a great team last year,” Nix said. “They beat us last year head-to-head. They beat us pretty bad. But that game was close at the beginning, and it was honestly closer than they played. There at the end, they just did what they do, and honestly, they had a great team and they continued to just build on that.”
No. 2 Alabama (10-1, 7-1 in the SEC) will travel to Auburn (6-5, 3-4) for a 2:30 p.m. CT kickoff on Saturday. The Tide is a 19.5-point favorite, according to VegasInsider.com.
