Murals of Oregon quarterback Bo Nix tower over Manhattan’s Park Avenue and Dallas’ Live Oak Street. The bright yellows and greens beam for several blocks in New York City and Dallas. The two-part installation of Nix throwing a football catches people’s eyes hundreds of yards away. Meanwhile, ostentatious electronic billboards illuminate downtown Los Angeles and Penn Station, with the tagline “BOdacious” accompanying the visuals.
The digital marketing of the “BOdacious” brand is a part of Oregon’s publicity push to grow the Nix 2023 Heisman Trophy campaign. The promotional efforts have reached fans across the nation and provided Nix with visibility in a larger-than-life way.
The bold ads headline football-related pages on the ESPN website and take up entire pages of the New York Times. More subtly, the campaign appeared on Sept. 2 at the site of ESPN’s College Gameday in Charlotte, North Carolina, as fans held up “BOdacious” signs in the packed crowd. Nix seems to be everywhere off the football field, while he has been covering great ground on the turf.
The last time Oregon invested in a Heisman campaign was in 2001 for Joey Harrington, who ultimately finished fourth in Heisman voting. Harrington, or “Joey Heisman,” as it was declared, had his full-length picture plastered across from Manhattan’s Madison Square Garden. The single 80-by-100 foot billboard attempted to put Oregon at the forefront of football. Two decades later, the Ducks have reestablished their national presence in more than one state and on more than one platform — seemingly important as Oregon athletics will be traveling coast to coast in 2024 following its move to the Big 10 conference.
Week 1 saw the Ducks kick off their season with a historic 81-7 victory over Portland State. Nix threw for 287 yards and three touchdowns, completing 23 of his 27 passes before Lanning benched him to avoid injury early in the third quarter. Their home opener victory set an Autzen Stadium modern era scoring record. With the season underway, Nix will need to continue to break career and team records if he wants to contend for the most prestigious individual award in college football.
Saturday’s game versus Texas Tech had a much more slim score differential –– the Ducks eventually rallied past the Red Raiders 38-30. This on-the-road Oregon victory marked Texas Tech’s first loss in a home opener since 1999. Nix threw for two touchdowns and 359 yards, without an interception. The fifth-year quarterback passed former Red Raider and two-time Super Bowl champion with Kansas City, Patrick Mahomes, on the career list for yards passing. Nix is at 11,490, while Mahomes tallied 11,252 yards over his collegiate career.
Nix transferred to Oregon from Auburn University in 2022 to exhaust his last two years of eligibility. As a true freshman, Nix led the program to a 9-4 record season and was named the SEC Freshman of the Year. However, over the next two seasons, Nix and the Tiger offense had trouble improving on the success they achieved in 2019.
A large part of Nix’s transferring decision was to reunite with Kenny Dillingham, who joined Dan Lanning’s team in 2021 as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Dillingham held the same position at Auburn in 2019, during Nix’s standout first-year, but left the Tigers for Florida State in 2020. Following his departure, Nix struggled to advance his statistics, so the Oregon transfer opportunity afforded Nix the chance to pick up where he had left off with Dillingham.
The reunion of Nix and Dillingham evidently rejuvenated Nix’s career. As of 2022, Nix became Oregon’s single-season record holder for completion percentage, 71.9. He also became the first UO starting quarterback to post a completion percentage of 70.0 or better in a season.
However, the dynamic duo faced a similar situation in November of 2022. Dillingham would leave Nix for the head coaching position at Arizona State University. In a scramble to replace Dillingham, Lanning hired Will Stein with the approval of Nix. Stein joined the Ducks as offensive coordinator and quarterback coach after spending three seasons at the University of Texas at San Antonio.
Stein has just two weeks under his belt as a Duck, and so far his leadership has proven to be promising. Stein will have to do his best to integrate himself with the Oregon offense and deliver on the ground and in the air for the Ducks. Hopefully, Stein brings the same spontaneous and creative play calling that Oregon fans grew accustomed to with Dillingham; a system that Nix clearly thrived in.
Meanwhile, it is imperative for Nix, a prospective Heisman frontrunner, to remain healthy throughout the season and avoid any serious injuries. Last year, Nix was one of the top contenders to win the Heisman before he suffered a costly ankle injury against the Washington Huskies that derailed his odds, and Oregon’s season.
Going into the third week of the 2023 fall season, BetMGM’s Heisman odds ranks Nix in sixth place, with odds +1,900. In addition to Nix, the pool of potential award winners is highly competitive, with top candidates from within the Pac-12 and throughout the nation.
Currently, USC’s quarterback Caleb Williams is the betting favorite to win a second-straight Heisman. The Trojan junior threw for 47 touchdowns, completed 296 of 448 passes for 4,075 yards and rushed for 372 yards on 109 carries in the 2022 season.
Nix will need to light up the stat sheet to keep Williams from becoming the second player ever — after Archie Griffin in 1974 and 1975 — to win two Heisman Trophies.
According to BetMGM, Nix is also campaigning against Florida State’s quarterback Jordan Travis, +950; Washington’s quarterback Michael Penix Jr., +950; University of Texas Austin’s quarterback Quinn Ewers, +1,100 and University of Michigan’s quarterback J.J. McCarthy, +1,500.
Eight quarterbacks have won the Heisman Trophy in the last ten years, and on average these eight award winners threw for 43 touchdowns, completed 304 of 448 attempts for 4,515 yards with 128 rushes.
Last season, by comparison, Nix completed 71.9% of his passes and accumulated a total of 3,593 yards and 29 touchdowns. Nix will need to work with Stein to find ways to advance his rushing ability and build on his passing success from last season.
In addition to improving his statistics, Nix will have to help lead the Ducks to the final Pac-12 Championship and contend for a spot in the College Football Playoff. Ultimately, Oregon must reach new heights this season if they want to increase Nix’s odds in the Heisman Trophy watch, and his probability of becoming the first Duck to win the coveted award since Marcus Mariota in 2014.
The anticipation is building in Autzen and across the country, as Duck fans wish for the opportunity to see Nix standing next to his New York City billboard in December for the Heisman Trophy ceremony.
