GCT, I believe that's as good a post as I've seen on the entire subject. To say that Auburn's D has exceeded expectations is putting it about as frankly as your admission of "we all knew it." I admire you for stating it because very few were willing to admit that a QB controversey could exist under Saban's form of discipline. And while that's historically true in the majority of cases under Saban, I'm not certain this is one of them.
While it's my opinion that you can't fault a coach for wanting to get the LSU-QB-of-the-future in for some valuable experience, I question whether the timing of the move had more to do with the outcome than the fact that two good (and rapidly improving) QB's were employed. Randall had it rolling and had fire in his eyes - it was clear to me that he was highly motivated to win, perhaps from his previous experience at J-H, perhaps for other reasons. And he's clearly had some experience in dealing with windy conditions, shortening his throwing motion for the occasion.
As an "outsider looking in" to this QB controversey, it appears to me that Randall has played more consistently and has good leadership ability. FWIW, I'm not convinced that the QB is the sole problem.
Saban should've left MR in for the entire first quarter, or at least until the offense stalled. I'm confident in stating that Chizik and the Auburn D were pleased to see Russell enter the game after being on their heels the entire first drive.
IMO, if Randall stays in, LSU wins the game by taking a decisive lead, going up early - same formula as last season ..... but against a much less experienced and less mature Auburn defense. This game was decided long before the controversey involving the penalty, JMO.
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