by Kyle Golik
The Fiesta Bowl capped off the non-CFP New Year’s Six slate of games on Monday, with a rout of a previously-undefeated Liberty Flames team. The story this postseason is the how the NFL Draft opt-outs and mass exodus of players in the portal have impacted the games. Oregon quarterback Bo Nix decided to buck this negative trend and played in the game
In the Orange Bowl, Georgia routed Florida State 63-3 to a Florida State squad that was without 27 players (9 NFL Draft opt-outs and 18 entered the transfer portal), leaving Georgia head coach Kirby Smart not in a celebratory mood at his postgame press conference, “People need to see what happened tonight, and they need to fix this, it needs to be fixed. It’s very unfortunate that they have a good football team and a good football program, and they’re in the position they’re in.”
“You can say it’s their fault, and they have to solve their own problem,” Smart continued. “We had our guys, and they didn’t have their guys. College football has to decide what they want. I know things are changing. But there’s still going to be bowl games outside of those. People need to decide what they want and what they want to get out of it because it’s really unfortunate for those kids on that sideline who had to play in that game and didn’t have their full arsenal. And it affected the game 100%.”
— Kirby Smart on bowl rosters
Before Michigan’s victory in the national semifinal, the Big Ten was not having a banner year in the New Year’s Six Bowls against the SEC, losing both the Peach and Cotton Bowls. Ohio State and Penn State were both victimized by last-minute opt-outs in wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., linebacker Tommy Eichenberg, tackle Olu Fashanu, and cornerbacks Johnny Dixon, and Kalen King.
Ohio State head coach Ryan Day commented after the Cotton Bowl loss, “I hope so. I hope there’s something. You have key pieces missing, and it’s just not the same team that you played with a month ago. But not that that’s an excuse. It’s just the way it is. We have to go win the game. I feel like absolutely. And I think maybe with the playoff that will change things as well.”
Penn State head coach James Franklin felt blindsided by the process following a Peach Bowl loss, “We had significant players that have played all year long that weren’t in that game. I don’t want this to come off the wrong way. I’m not criticizing, but it is what it is. It’s the reality. I think about guys that did play in the game and how appreciative we are, but not only appreciative. There’s an opportunity to create value by playing in games as well.”
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Oregon lost two tough games against their most hated rival, Washington, first in their annual rivalry game in Seattle and then in the Pac-12 Championship Game. This bowl was not a playoff game. This bowl was against an opponent against whom there is no upside. If you beat the Group of 5 team, you’re supposed to. And if you lose, you’re a laughing stock.
Nix, who had started 60 times before, whether it was at Auburn or Oregon, had played in a plethora of big games. So why did he want to play in a game that offered no championship and carried significant risk?
“My decision was simple. I wanted to go out and compete one more time. I wanted to go out and play another game. I don’t think you’re promised many opportunities to play the game of football, and with the year that we had, it would have been a shame if I didn’t go out there and finish with the guys who made it all possible. So, all I can go off is just my feelings and my decision. I didn’t think — I never had a question if I was playing in it. I just kind of thought it was going to be assumed that I was going to play in it, to be honest with you. It wasn’t much of a decision. For some guys, that’s different. It’s situationally based, but I couldn’t wait to get back on the field with these guys after what happened on December 1st. I couldn’t wait to get back out there and compete one more time. If I had the opportunity, I was going to go use it.”
– Oregon QB Bo Nix on why he decided to play in the Fiesta Bowl
At the essence of a competitor the game or competition has to matter. If you’re a competitor, then every game matters. Every time a competitor has an opportunity to compete, they do. There isn’t a question about draft stock, money, or risk. They all know that is part of it. But none of that matches the desire to compete.
Nix reminded us about the opportunity he had this year returning to Oregon and being mentored once again by Oregon head coach Dan Lanning, “Coach [Dan] Lanning can say what he wants, but a lot of it is because of him that we were in the situation we were in. He coaches us extremely hard, and he gets the best out of us. That’s what you want out of a head coach.
And his humility is going to give it to the players, but we wouldn’t be here without him and his leadership. I’ve learned so much from him over my time, over two years. Like I said, I wouldn’t be here without him and the coaches that he’s put around us as players. As a team, I felt like we set the bar really high. We had a standard, and we just wanted to go out there and match it every Saturday.”
As a college football fan, I appreciated everything Nix did in his career finale. He went and competed for not only himself and his teammates, but for all those who support Oregon. They had an opportunity to say goodbye and extend an appreciation to a warrior who meant everything to their program.
Nix may not have the resume Marcus Mariota has, winning the Heisman and playing for a national championship or other standards set by Dan Fouts or Justin Herbert, but he has one intangible the others shared and needed desperately to be displayed – an unquenchable thirst for competition.
It wasn’t about any selfish motivators for Nix. Oregon as a team had an opportunity to compete, and he wanted to take them out on top.
Thank you, Bo for reminding us all games matter.
