ARLINGTON, Texas -- Season-opening results should be wrapped in caution tape, as overreaction can cause embarrassment. But Auburn-Oregon was the type of opener that, no matter how it went, carried potentially long-term consequences for both teams.
Oregon arrived at AT&T Stadium on Saturday carrying the burden of an entire conference, trying to give the beleaguered Pac-12 some good news after several mostly miserable seasons. Behind quarterback Justin Herbert and a gifted offensive line, the Ducks sensed a return to national relevancy.
Auburn's Gus Malzahn arrived carrying the burden of his coaching future, which seemed secure at the end of 2017 but began to loosen last fall. Malzahn, who reclaimed offensive playcalling duties, needed to show he could reboot the unit and develop a quarterback he recruited: Bo Nix, the first Auburn true freshman quarterback to start an opener since 1946.
When the night ended, Malzahn and Nix left the field triumphantly, as No. 16 Auburn scored the final 21 points, including the winning touchdown with 9 seconds left, to stun No. 11 Oregon 27-21. The latest Malzahn miracle in a career largely defined by them propels Auburn forward behind a young quarterback described by teammate Big Kat Bryant as "meant to be here."
Mario Cristobal and the Ducks left bewildered after letting a game they largely controlled slip away.
Here's what the opener could mean for both teams.
Malzahn picked the right quarterback. That much was clear to coaches who had recruited Nix, the son of former Auburn quarterback Patrick Nix and ESPN's No. 2 pocket passer and No. 23 overall player in the 2019 class. Malzahn picked Nix over Joey Gatewood late in training camp.
"They're dumb if they don't," an SEC coach said this summer. "He's the best quarterback out of last year's class. That kid's a stud."
The question remained whether Malzahn could fast-track Nix for a crucial season that began with a national showcase opener against Oregon under the brightest of lights. Malzahn's most successful Auburn quarterbacks have been transfers: Cam Newton, Nick Marshall, Jarrett Stidham. He has struggled to develop ones he recruited.
Nix still needs work -- he completed just six of his first 20 attempts against Oregon and could have had more interceptions -- but his improvement throughout the game, culminating on a heroic final drive, gives Malzahn confidence for the future.
"He has some savviness to him, there's no doubt," Malzahn said. "When the game's on the line, you've got to make plays, and that's the one thing that he showed."
Nix first showed it on fourth-and-3 from the Auburn 47-yard line. He surveyed the field, saw "a whole bunch of white [Oregon] jerseys," and rather than fire to a receiver on a drag route -- "It would have had to be a perfect throw," Malzahn said -- he raced for the marker, making it by the nose of the ball.
The freshman then targeted Seth Williams, missing him once before connecting on the sideline for a 13-yard gain. Auburn was in field goal range with no timeouts, but Malzahn decided to give Nix and Williams, who had clamored for the ball in single coverage, one chance at a 50-50 ball in the end zone.
"It was a specific play, I had [Williams] and Eli [Stove] out there, so I tried to go to the field, and they spun the coverage," Nix said. "The safety had his back to me, so I gave him a chance, and I knew he was going to catch the ball."
Malzahn's decision could have backfired. "Confidence," Williams said. "He believes in me."
Malzahn's faith and aggressiveness could signal big things ahead for Auburn. He showed creativity, even when the offense struggled early, keeping the linemen in their stance on several plays and using play-action and sideline routes to Will Hastings and Sal Cannella.
Not surprisingly, Malzahn gave himself a less-than-perfect grade -- he was particularly miffed at his call on first-and-goal from the 3-yard line in the second quarter after Bryant's 83-yard fumble return -- but said, "It was fun to get back in there." The players noticed, too.
"It's completely different," Williams said. "We know what he's going to call and when he's going to call it. We overprepare for things, and it's a good thing. Not risky. I like it, I appreciate it."
Although many coaches wondered if Malzahn ever fully relinquished offensive playcalling in recent seasons, some expected more aggressiveness and creativity from the head man than what Auburn showed with coordinator Chip Lindsey. "You have to defend all 11 guys, where when the other guy [Lindsey] was calling it, it was defending 10," an SEC defensive coordinator said. Malzahn even mixed in Gatewood on a 1-yard score, using a play Newton had run during Auburn's 2010 national championship season.
Another encouraging sign was Auburn's emerging run game, a Malzahn trademark during his best seasons on the Plains. After just 70 rush yards on 17 carries in the first half, Auburn more than doubled its total (83 yards) on three fewer rushes in the third quarter. JaTarvious Whitlow had 78 of his 110 rushing yards in the second half, and a veteran but often-suspect line asserted itself against a solid Oregon front.
"We're a team that runs the ball," Williams said. "We had to out-physical them."
Darrian Felix takes the handoff on the jet sweep and bursts to the end zone for a six-yard touchdown.
Oregon was the more physical team for most of the game. The Ducks also looked faster and arguably better prepared, scoring touchdowns on their first possessions of each half. The offensive line Cristobal masterfully molded neutralized Auburn's decorated defensive front early on, creating holes for CJ Verdell and time for Herbert to survey the field.
But the Ducks missed multiple scoring opportunities in the first half, as Herbert and Verdell botched an exchange inside the Auburn 10-yard line. After scoring to open the second half, Oregon reached Auburn territory just once (not counting the final possession, which began after a squib kick). A shorthanded receiving corps -- Penn State transfer Juwan Johnson sat out with a calf injury -- didn't help down the stretch, confirming concerns some coaches had expressed about the lack of a go-to target for Herbert.
"Just got off schedule," Cristobal said.
Oregon lost its physical edge as the game went along. The sideline also lost something. After Herbert suffered a minor knee injury, Oregon burned two timeouts before a fourth-and-1 play with 5 minutes, 34 seconds left. Referee Reggie Smith even announced that Herbert had to sit out a play before returning, and that a timeout made no difference.
Cristobal said Oregon had the wrong personnel in, so he used the timeouts. The play the Ducks finally called had no chance, as Auburn dropped Verdell for a loss and reclaimed possession.
"We take it as a coaching staff," he said. "That's on us. We had a few guys that were obviously down for the game and a couple guys who cramped up during the game, so we were trying to make the pieces work for a certain play. I'd rather be safe than sorry in that situation and use the timeout and give us a chance to run it."
Cristobal's game management also surfaced in a home loss to Stanford last season. While he has clearly elevated Oregon's talent level, he hasn't eased questions about his role in the biggest games.
Oregon had plenty of positives Saturday, especially a defense under new coordinator Andy Avalos that limited Auburn for nearly three quarters. Other than an early drop by Bryan Addison, the Ducks looked much more sure-handed than they were in 2018, when they led the nation with 52 drops.
The Ducks nearly got the victory the Pac-12 sorely needed.
"[The] Pac-12 gets a lot of hate for not being physical, not being able to stop the run or whatnot, but you saw that in the Michigan State [bowl] game, you saw that in this game," safety Jevon Holland said. "We're really putting the Pac-12 out there."
Like Washington a year ago against Auburn, Oregon came up short, leaving the field to chants of "S-E-C! S-E-C!"
"Nobody wanted to lose to Oregon," Whitlow said. "We feel like that's a bad reputation on them. What are they, ACC? Pac-12? I didn't even know what they were. A Pac-12 team coming in and beating an SEC team, we can't take that."
Auburn now sets its sights on the SEC, boosted by Nix, who said Saturday's finish exceeded his childhood dreams. When the speedy Anthony Schwartz (hand) returns to full strength, the Tigers should be more explosive in the passing game. Malzahn still must deliver to cool off his seat, despite a massive guarantee he's still owed from a $49 million contract in 2017.
But the debut of the Malzahn-Nix offense ended in encouraging fashion. It's no secret that the past two national champions ultimately turned to freshman quarterbacks. Although Nix and the Tigers didn't look championship-caliber for much of Saturday night, they recaptured some magic at the end.
"I love Bo," Bryant said. "He's meant to be here. I had no doubt in him."
South Florida has no answers for Jonathan Taylor, as the Wisconsin RB finds the end zone for the fourth time.
Week 1 notes
• The preseason coaching hot-seat breakdown barely included USF's Charlie Strong, and only in the American Athletic Conference's "keep an eye on" category. But a disastrous opener against Wisconsin, which thumped USF 49-0 on Friday night in Tampa, Florida, quickly ratcheted up industry chatter about Strong's future.
Strong has lost seven consecutive games, stretching back to last season, after winning 17 of his first 19 contests at USF. What's more damning is Friday's face-plant came after Strong reshaped his staff, bringing in offensive coordinator Kerwin Bell and four other new assistants in an effort to "wake up" the program. The Bulls not only failed to score in the opener -- Wisconsin is improved on defense but not at 2015-17 level -- and recorded only nine first downs, but the sloppiness that showed up much of last season resurfaced with three turnovers and nine penalties. Strong took responsibility afterward, saying, "Very disappointing and embarrassing loss. ... Thought I had them ready to play. Guess I didn't."
USF signed a very school-friendly contract with Strong, whose 2017 and 2018 salary came mostly from Texas. Although USF is now absorbing Strong's salary, which jumped from $1 million last year to $2.5 million this year, it might have little choice if the pattern continues. Athletic director Michael Kelly didn't hire Strong. USF has made important investments in the program, and it can't continue to fall further behind Interstate 4 rival UCF, as both programs have great access to talent.
Another desirable Group of 5 job is Colorado State, which opened its season with a 52-31 loss to Colorado that featured four turnovers. Rams coach Mike Bobo, now 0-5 against Colorado, went off on the Pac-12 officials afterward, but he will need to deliver soon to stabilize things in Fort Collins.
• Clemson running back Travis Etienne has always been fast. The key to his improvement, though, is thinking slower.
When Clemson co-offensive coordinator and running backs coach Tony Elliott watched Etienne during the offseason, and in Thursday night's opener against Georgia Tech, he saw the junior playing and processing the game with greater patience. The result: 205 rushing yards and three touchdowns on only 12 carries, including a 90-yard score.
"When he first got here, he was just running off of his explosiveness and speed and not using his patience to let things develop and get to the second and third level quickly," Elliott told ESPN. "You can tell it's a little bit slower to him now. He's a lot more confident with run scheme and identifying defensive structure. Really, he's maturing and growing."
The opener was so lopsided that Etienne didn't get to work much on two elements he focused on during the offseason: pass blocking and catching passes. Elliott looks forward to evaluating Etienne in both categories. "For his longevity and his future, those areas are crucial for his success, so he's going to have to improve," he said.
But Etienne's comfort in the offense and his responsibilities already are showing up. Elliott sees it in Etienne's body language before a play. He's asking fewer questions and better ones, not simply where to line up. Etienne has been Clemson's most talented back for years, but he had deferred to older players such as Adam Choice and Tavien Feaster, who both transferred this offseason.
"With Feaster leaving, it forced him to be the no-doubt leader in the room," Elliott said. "Now he's the most talented and the most experienced. Now when he walks in the room, all the eyes are on him first. He has to walk in with confidence. Guys need to know the tone of the day."
• The preseason optimism for Utah, picked as the Pac-12 favorite and No. 14 in the Associated Press poll, stemmed mainly from its defense.
"We only had a few question marks coming in," Utes coach Kyle Whittingham told ESPN, "and the D-line had no question marks."
Utah's defense addressed some of its few lingering uncertainties in Thursday's 30-12 win at BYU, the team's ninth straight in the Holy War. Established stars such as tackle Leki Fotu and cornerback Jaylon Johnson performed well, but so did linebacker Francis Bernard, who scored Utah's first touchdown on a 58-yard interception return. Bernard spent most of 2018 backing up standout linebackers Chase Hansen and Cody Barton, who combined for nine sacks, 32.5 tackles for loss, 230 total tackles and three interceptions.
"He's very similar," Whittingham said of Bernard. "Coming into the season, that was our thought, that he was going to be a nice fill-in for Cody and Chase's shoes. The player of the game for us was Francis Bernard."
Linebacker was the defense's biggest unknown, but Whittingham came away from BYU impressed by both Bernard and sophomore Devin Lloyd, thrust into a key role after Penn State transfer Manny Bowen opted to leave the program this summer.
"It could be a blessing in disguise because now Devin's in there, gaining valuable experience," Whittingham said. "He's 6-3, 230 and runs a 4.5, just a real physical specimen."
Whittingham also liked the play of junior Tareke Lewis, who started opposite Johnson after having mostly a reserve role in 2018. Although the offensive competition will improve in Pac-12 play -- Utah opens with USC and Washington State -- the Utes look like a complete unit.
"They're as advertised," Whittingham said.
• Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson aptly described Friday's victory over Utah State as "a college opener."
"A lot of effort, a ton of mistakes," Clawson told ESPN.
Wake Forest has plenty to improve, particularly on defense, but outlasting a Utah State team that won 11 games last season and returns one of the nation's top quarterbacks in Jordan Love means something. Especially since the Demon Deacons trailed four times. They move forward with a young quarterback already accustomed to success under pressure, and a wide receiver embracing the role as top target.
Junior quarterback Jamie Newman led Wake Forest 89 yards in just 71 seconds and fired the winning touchdown pass to Kendall Hinton. Newman has led game-winning drives in three of his five starts, including last season at NC State and against Memphis in the Birmingham Bowl.
"He knows he's done it, so he gets out there and we're down by four points and there's two minutes left and we have 90 yards to go, and it's, 'Hey, I've done this before, we've done this before, let's go,'" Clawson said. "And then he backs it up with his play. For a guy who didn't play going into his third year, for him to do what he's done the last five games, the switch went on with him."
Newman has help with Sage Surratt, who had seven catches for 158 yards and a touchdown Friday, including a 70-yarder that set up the winning score.