[Gauss]

[quote author=hurlburt88 link=topic=16088.msg179131#msg179131 date=1479056102]
Lesson from this year has to be that QB depth--and thus competition--is critical 

We had 3 highly rated QBs this year, spread out nicely by age.  90+% of the Power 5 teams would have salivated over our brood, so depth was not the problem.  There was competition, by definition, and the coaching team made their decision and that decision has proved to be wrong.  I personally think that if Shaw had gone to Chryst from game 1, we might now be salivating about our prospects in the "pick 6" group for the FCB.
[/quote]

Hum, I would not be so sure. Chryst had no experience starting before this season, and for all we know, his command of the game could have been even worse than what he displayed against Arizona and OSU. I posit that had he started, we'd have lost 1 or perhaps 2 of the KSU-UCLS-U.SC gauntlet. Which together with the almost certain losses to UW and WSU (our lines were overmatched, partially due to injuries), would still have us at 7-3 or 6-4 at this point in the season.

David Shaw might have made the wrong choice at the beginning of the season (and even that is debatable), but the season might not have panned out very differently if he had not.

[Gauss]

[quote author=hurlburt88 link=topic=16088.msg179131#msg179131 date=1479056102]
Lesson from this year has to be that QB depth--and thus competition--is critical 

We had 3 highly rated QBs this year, spread out nicely by age.  90+% of the Power 5 teams would have salivated over our brood, so depth was not the problem.  There was competition, by definition, and the coaching team made their decision and that decision has proved to be wrong.  I personally think that if Shaw had gone to Chryst from game 1, we might now be salivating about our prospects in the "pick 6" group for the FCB.
[/quote]

Hum, I would not be so sure. Chryst had no experience starting before this season, and for all we know, his command of the game could have been even worse than what he displayed against Arizona and OSU. I posit that had he started, we'd have lost 1 or perhaps 2 of the KSU-UCLS-U.SC gauntlet. Which together with the almost certain losses to UW and WSU (our lines were overmatched, partially due to injuries), would still have us at 7-3 or 6-4 at this point in the season.

David Shaw might have made the wrong choice at the beginning of the season (and even that is debatable), but the season might not have panned out very differently if he had not.