That’s what’d Concern me as much as anything. I don’t care what anybody says - players can gain or lose a great amount of confidence when a guy they think should or shouldn’t be playing plays or doesn’t play.... the fan favorite might not be the team’s favorite, a guy that’s disliked by the fanbase May be the team’s favorite. Team psyche can be a very delicate thing. That’s not the way you hope it to be but we are long removed from the “win one for the gipper days...
Absolutely agree. I have always believed in the psychological/mental aspect of sports that you can't see on a stat sheet but they impact the games.
Last year, I think it was a big hit to the team's psyche when Rogers went down. He had looked pretty decent against USC (who wasn't any good, but hey, it's USC). Then we'd followed it up with blowout wins over UTEP and Prairie View. Then came Arkansas State. A road game with torrential downpour. A close loss. Armani didn't look great, but it seemed like it could be blamed on the weather. But then came news of the injury. I really believe the team still thought Armani was the guy to take the team to a bowl game. The loss to UNM the next week with Armani out was brutal. It seemed like the team was down and out. Their QB was gone and all was lost.
This year, we saw early and often that healthy Armani is not the guy to lead this team. His passing is just so bad, and his decision-making might be worse. I think the team knows who Armani is and who he isn't. Losing him this year was not the heartbreaker it was last year. The team came out with spirit against Boise and held its own. Then went on the road and beat an SEC team. The spirit around this team has to be as high as it has ever been this season. Receivers believe they might get the ball if they get open. The defense is playing as good as ever. They have rallied.
And you can't downplay what Oblad brings to the table. Yes, the playcalling was MUCH better and he wasn't asked to throw the ball around a bunch, but when he did throw it, he was ACCURATE. He kept drives alive. He hit the big play ball that has too often been underthrown or overthrown by Armani.
This week will absolutely be a tougher task, but it's Oblad's job to lose at this point. And hey, if you want to bring in Armani at some point for a glorified wildcat package... great. Go for it. But Oblad is the starter. This is an easy decision.