Lincoln Riley benched Spencer Rattler for true freshman Caleb Williams in the Red River Showdown after Texas jumped to a 28-7 first-quarter lead. At the time of his benching, Rattler had been totally ineffective—completing 8/15 passes with one interception and one fumble. Williams led Oklahoma to a 55-48 come-from-behind win over Texas.
When an AB led offense failed to score any points in the first half against Utah, why didn’t MC bench him for TT? AB was totally ineffective against Utah (17/35 (48.5% completion rate) for 231 yards; 9 carries for 8 yards). The Ducks needed to score points (in a hurry) in the second half. That means they needed to throw it. MC stuck with AB and they scored 7 points. Why didn’t MC do what Lincoln Riley did and bench AB? Is he just too stubborn? Prideful? Conservative?
It seems MC’s unwillingness to adapt, inability to make difficult decisions, and lack of creativity/flexibility is starting to have a negative effect on the program. The receivers are obviously frustrated. The fans are frustrated. I suspect the defense is also frustrated. It’s obvious to everyone, other than MC, that something (namely, the starting QB) has to change.