Bo Nix

Two of the nation's top quarterbacks went head-to-head on Sunday night, as Caleb Williams and Bo Nix looked impressive in the first half of USC and Oregon's showdown.

Despite taking three sacks, Williams completed just over 61 percent of his passes for 159 yards while scoring a rushing touchdown. His top target was wide receiver Tahj Washington, who hauled in three catches for 73 yards at the half.

College football fans were impressed with Williams' performance.

While Williams' first half was admirable, Nix's halftime numbers were downright exceptional. Despite completing just eight passes, the Ducks' signal-caller threw for 262 yards and three touchdowns with zero interceptions.

Oregon's stellar offense continued to produce points, owning a 22-14 lead at the half.

Wide receiver Troy Franklin racked up 147 yards and a touchdown on just two catches through two quarters. Franklin had only topped that number in a single game once all year, a Week 7 matchup with Washington.

Fans applauded the Ducks' high-powered offense, as well as Nix's tremendous half.

Both Nix and Williams have shown throughout the 2023 season that they're not just two of the best quarterbacks in the Pac-12. Instead, they're two of the best passers in the country.

Saturday night's matchup between Caleb Williams and the USC Trojans and Bo Nix and the No. 6 Oregon Ducks has drawn plenty of interest from NFL scouts.

Sixteen NFL scouts from 13 different teams are in attendance at Autzen Stadium for the game. The Seattle Seahawks sent the most scouts with three people in attendance.

With the college football regular season beginning to wind down, it's no surprise scouts are making their way out to see some of the biggest matchups on tap.

Saturday's game between USC and Oregon features two of the best quarterbacks available in the 2024 draft class in Williams and Nix.

Williams is widely expected to be the No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft following a standout career at USC that saw him win the Heisman Trophy last season.

Additionally, Williams is in the Heisman conversation again this season as he entered Saturday's game having completed 69.2 percent of his passes for 2,958 yards and 28 touchdowns against four interceptions, in addition to rushing for 173 yards and 10 scores.

Nix is also considered a top quarterback prospect in the 2024 class, though he isn't considered to be a first-round selection despite two solid seasons at Oregon after beginning his college career at Auburn.

Entering Saturday's game, Nix completed 78.1 percent of his passes for 2,723 yards and 25 touchdowns against two interceptions in nine games, in addition to rushing for 116 yards and five scores.

Some of the more intriguing NFL teams in attendance for Saturday's game include the Atlanta Falcons, Chicago Bears and New York Giants.

The Falcons began the season with 2022 third-round pick Desmond Ridder as their starting quarterback, but they benched the 24-year-old in Week 9 in favor of Taylor Heinicke. With Ridder not showing much promise as a potential franchise quarterback, it's no surprise the Falcons might be scouting his potential replacement.

The Bears, meanwhile, have relied on 2021 first-round pick Justin Fields under center since his rookie year. While he has shown improvement this season, Chicago continues to struggle and considering they have two first-round picks in 2024, the team will surely consider all of its options.

The Giants have also been rumored to be in the quarterback market despite giving Daniel Jones a four-year, $160 million extension in March.

Jones, who is out for the season with a torn ACL, showed little promise prior to going down with the injury, and New York is now 2-7 on the season and could land a top pick in the 2024 draft with the opportunity to select a better signal-caller.

USC's Caleb Williams and North Carolina's Drake Maye are going to be top-10 picks in the 2024 NFL draft, but they may be joined by quite a few quarterbacks in the first rounds.

According to Mel Kiper Jr. of ESPN, "Shedeur Sanders (Colorado) is my third-ranked passer and could be available late in the top 10 picks, but some NFL teams also like Bo Nix (Oregon), Michael Penix Jr. (Washington), J.J. McCarthy (Michigan) and Jayden Daniels (LSU) as potential first-rounders."

That would be seven—yes, seven—quarterbacks in the first round, though some could obviously fall to the second day of the draft. It would also set an NFL record, with the current record for first-round quarterbacks coming in 1983, when six quarterbacks (three of them who became Hall of Famers) were selected: John Elway, Todd Blackledge, Jim Kelly, Tony Eason, Ken O'Brien, and Dan Marino.

And, of course, there's no guarantee that Sanders will even hit the draft this year, though given how his stock has skyrocketed, it would probably be the wise decision. Either way, it appears to be a good year to have a need at the position.

The Bo Nix Heisman Trophy campaign received a huge boost on Saturday as the Oregon Ducks quarterback completed 24-of-31 passes for 248 yards and two touchdowns (in addition to a rushing score) en route to a 35-6 road win over the Utah Utes.

Nix entered the game on fire by completing 78.4 percent of his passes for 2,089 yards (9.0 YPC), 19 touchdowns and just one interception. He and the Ducks faced a daunting task on the road against the No. 13 Utes, who sported the 11th-best scoring defense in Division I-FBS.

However, Nix played pitch-and-catch with his receivers all day en route to a tremendous win.

He got the Ducks off to a great start with a six-play, 75-yard drive capped by one-yard run. Later in the quarter, Nix found Jordan James to cap another 75-yard scoring drive. After the PAT, Oregon took a 14-3 lead.

Nix and the Ducks later took advantage of a short field following an interception. Five plays later, Nix found Troy Franklin for a three-yard score. Franklin led all Ducks with eight catches for 99 yards.

Oregon put this one away in the third quarter with rushing touchdowns from Bucky Irving (119 yards from scrimmage) and Traeshon Holden.

The Ducks put forth a tremendous effort on both sides of the ball en route to the victory, and they are on track for a rematch against undefeated Washington in the Pac-12 title game.

In the meantime, though, the Heisman talk for Nix has reached a fever pitch, and rightfully so after a tremendous day.

Nix and the Ducks will next host Cal on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. ET.

Bo Nix and running back Bucky Irving shined during No. 9 Oregon's 38-24 win over Washington State on Saturday.

Nix finished the afternoon with 293 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. He also added a third score on the ground. The Heisman Trophy candidate started in his 54th career game, the most ever by an NCAA quarterback.

Meanwhile, Irving notched 129 yards on the ground and recorded a career-high three total touchdowns. This included an impressive 43-yard rush that began with a jump cut in the backfield and finished in the end zone.

Running back Jordan James also broke the century mark, racking up 103 yards on his 13 carries.

Fans were impressed by Oregon's offense climbing out of an early 10-3 hole and coming alive in the second half.

The Ducks bounced back in a major way after their narrow 36-33 loss to No. 5 Washington in Week 7. Oregon look to keep its momentum rolling in the team's next game, a Pac-12 showdown against No. 14 Utah.