Lanning Sticking With Bo Nix as Oregon Quarterback After Loss to Georgia
As the second half wore on in Atlanta on Saturday, the Georgia Bulldogs just continued to pile it on the Oregon Ducks. At one point scoring on seven consecutive drives, Oregon's defense trotted off the field in desperate need of some help from the offense.
It never came.
Georgia's defense flexed its muscles early on quarterback Bo Nix who made his Ducks debut against the Bulldogs, his fourth time facing Kirby Smart. Despite losing eight starters from a record-setting defense in 202 the Bulldogs didn't miss a beat.
Quarterback is the most heavily-scrutinized position in football, and Nix made two crucial errors early on in this one, tossing two interceptions on back-to-back drives. The first was an attempt to find wide receiver Seven McGee on a deep pass, but Malaki Starks made an impressive play, hauling in the pass as the two went down to the turf.
His second interception was more difficult to stomach, as he threw into what was practically triple coverage before Chris Smith snagged it and went back the other way.
The Auburn transfer finished the day throwing for 172 yards on 21-of-37 passing with three interceptions.
Fans clamored for Ty Thompson to play after the game was far out of reach, but head coach Dan Lanning isn't going to change his mind after just one game.
"The takeaways were bad, and they dominated us on third down," Lanning said after Saturday's loss. "Obviously, the takeaways, the second takeaway is one that Bo would certainly want back. They were playing buzz coverage into a quads look and forced a throw we don't need to force. Bo knows that. He knows that the minute he walked off the field."
Despite Nix's struggles on Saturday, Lanning liked what he saw from the offense at times, speaking on his decision to keep Nix in even when the outcome looked bleak. He also made sure to take the time and point the finger at himself after his team looked unprepared for what awaited them at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
"Bo is a leader. I think if you go back and look at our offense, they really moved the ball well. We didn't cap off our drives," the head coach said. "Obviously, the turnovers is something we don't want to have, but we moved the ball down the field at times. Bo is going to go evaluate himself. We have other quarterbacks on our team that obviously can compete as well, but Bo is our quarterback. Bo did a good job today of handling some adverse situations, but he is also going to figure out how can he improve, just like we can as a staff."
Now the Ducks return back to Eugene and the comfort of Autzen Stadium to face the Eastern Washington Eagles in their first home game of the season.
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