AUBURN, Ala. – The play began at Texas A&M's 5-yard line. It quickly reversed 15 yards, with Auburn quarterback Bo Nix running for his life at the Aggies' 20 after twice avoiding sacks. It culminated in the end zone, with Nix plowing through a pair of Aggies near the goal line, one of the wildest 5-yard touchdown runs in Auburn history.
"They did a good job of pressing our guys and it took a little longer to develop," Nix said. "They brought some pressure as well. Instinctively I tried to avoid a sack and got out in the middle in the open and saw a bunch of my guys ready to go block. They did a great job of leading the way for me and I found the end zone."
"A 'wow' play," Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said. "He's a great competitor and I thought he did some very good things today."
You can't measure @BoNix10's heart.pic.twitter.com/NPVT2LUmUo
— Auburn Football (@AuburnFootball) December 5, 2020
Shaun Shivers was the first option on an RPO. Seth Williams was the second on a slant. When Shivers didn't get the ball, he turned around to locate Nix, and seeing his quarterback scrambling, initially considered trying to provide a receiving option before joining tight end Luke Deal in running interference with blocks inside the 5.
"I thought he was tackled, then I saw him running again," Shivers said. "Let me go help him out. At first, I was going to look back to the catch the ball but I said, no, he's going to take it and score the touchdown so I just went over there and blocked."Bo Nix rushed for 49 yards and two TDs vs. Texas A&MNix's escape act – call him 'Bo-udini' - gave Auburn a 10-7 lead with 3:36 left in the first half.
The sophomore showcased his rushing skills on the opening drive of the second half, gaining 22 yards on the first play, then converting a third-and-4 with a 6-yard run before capping the drive with a 3-yard touchdown run, Nix's first career game with two rushing TDs.
"I thought our quarterback showed a lot of guts," Malzahn said. "He played hard. He made some plays out of nothing. I thought he did some very good things today."
"We've got a great quarterback," offensive lineman Brodarious Hamm said. "He can make plays. When something breaks down, he can make something out of it. I just credit Bo for that for being a hard worker."
Nix completed 15 of 23 passes for 144 yards, adding 49 rushing yards on 11 carries. He has six rushing TDs this season and 13 in his career. No. 5 Texas A&M won 31-20, the Aggies' first victory over Auburn in four years.
"Learning how to go through adversity, this is part of the process," Nix said. "We've battled and we've competed the entire season. It's definitely a learning year. All you can do is move forward and make sure you finish the season how you'd like."
Nix and the Tigers will conclude the regular season next Saturday at Mississippi State.
"We're going to do everything we can to win on Saturday," he said. "Six more days and then see how the rest of the season ends up with the postseason. Whatever it takes for the next six days, just come out with a win."Bo Nix has rushed for 13 touchdowns in his first two seasonsJeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer