Bo Nix had struggled all game. He had looked like a true freshman starting against one of the top teams in the nation. Needless to say, his inexperience showed.

Then he pulled a Nix-to-Sanders … errrr, I mean a Nix-to-Williams pass and put Auburn ahead with 9 seconds left. For the first time in the game. Against No. 11 Oregon.

The Tigers were already in field goal range and had a trusty kicker in Anders Carlson to boot the winning points through the uprights. Yet, as we have heard all offseason, this is a new Gus Malzahn and he, despite all the errors earlier in the game, had confidence in the freshman quarterback.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Nix must do a lot of growing. He threw two bad interceptions when the Tigers had good field position. Nix faced pressure unlike he had ever seen and threw ball the away. The Ducks defense was getting to him.

I’m not sure how many true freshman would have kept the confidence, stayed in there and kept inspiring their teammates like Nix. This is a player that isn’t used to losing and, for most of the game, it seemed as if that would be the outcome. On the sidelines, he kept on talking to Malzahn, his head coach and offensive coordinator, and never once hung his head. When things looked low, with the Ducks up 21-6 and in control of the game and the Tigers’ offense stalling, Nix never wavered.

Neither did Malzahn in keeping him in the game. There were many instances where, I am sure, Auburn fans were hoping that Joey Gatewood would come in and give the offense a breath of fresh air. Malzahn, the new Malzahn, stuck to his conviction. Instead of seeing three quarterbacks in the opener like against Clemson in 2016, the coach stuck to his man. The only time Gatewood saw the field? A short goal-line situation in which his 6-f00t-5 frame rushed for a touchdown.

There is still a lot of work to do for this offense to become explosive, and there were signs of it on Saturday night. For a team that will face some more tough defenses — and give Oregon its due, it was good on Saturday — the Tigers won’t be able to get away with a performance like tonight and still walk away with a victory.

Yet Nix, who has been waiting for this moment for quite possibly all of his life, walked off of the field at AT&T Stadium a winner. Malzahn had the confidence in him. The Tigers’ offense had the confidence in him. And I am sure that his dad, Patrick Nix, knew that the game-winner was coming.

It is what the Nix family does at Auburn.