El Proximo Rojo?

At some point Saturday after another Marshall Lobbestael pass splashed in the sodden turf at an open receiver’s feet, I turned to Amieable and our cats and declared that it was time for Connor Hallidy. Of course this was an emotional reaction to witnessing a hapless performance where Marshall was far from our only problem, but I’m definitely not the only one thinking about this. Marshall has filled in admirably for the injured Jeff Tuel and posted completely respectable numbers even when measured against his peers in the Conference of Quarterbacks. His line so far this season is: 60%, 2231 yds, 16 TDs 7 Int’s. Like I said, respectable. However, during the game Saturday they flashed his stats in the Cougs losses. It should come as no surprise that a QB would have worse stats to show in his team’s losses, but in Marshall’s case it’s worth noting just how much of his season totals were compiled in the Cougars 3 early wins. If you remove the OSU and Stanford games in which Marshall threw 0 TDs and 1 Int as Jeff Tuel’s replacement, and just focus on his starts, here are his numbers in our other four losses:

54%, 6 TDs, 5 Ints

Not exactly lighting the world on fire. The bottom line is that this offense is not getting adequate QB play. Of course when you are already using your backup QB, there may not be too much you can do about it. Playing Connor Halliday is not likely to drastically change the Coug offense’s fortunes. Whatever you would gain from Halliday’s superior arm and slightly better mobility, you would likely lose even more in the way of game management, poise and decision making. As far as winning games is concerned, Lobbestael is by far the best option available. But come the 3^rd quarter of the ASU game this weekend we are likely to find ourselves in a position where the wins no longer matter in any material sense. Sure, the Apple Cup ALWAYS matters, but a beat down at the hands of ASU leaves us officially eliminated from the bowl season. With that in mind I think it is time to start preparing for the future and making sure Mr. Halliday is getting the live action reps he needs to be ready next year in case Jeff Tuel goes down again, God forbid.

This team needs some home cooking in the worst way and the LAST thing they needs is any kind of QB controversy. However, there is a sensible way to get Halliday significant reps down the stretch as part of our normal game plan, especially since we are likely to have nothing left to lose after Saturday. It would also give Coug fans something they are finding harder and harder to find… a reason to watch the games.