Copyright outkick
With the calendar now firmly flipped over to November, it's nut-crunching time for a lot of college football teams, and not just the ones in playoff races, either. Sure, impactful decisions need to be made for the teams who have a chance at a national title, but there are still plenty of programs who have to keep their fans engaged during the doldrums of another lost season. One way to do that is to bench an overhyped and underperforming signal caller, and last night gave us just a glimpse into the start of the benching season in college football. It started in earnest a few weeks ago, when Auburn benched former five-star quarterback Jackson Arnold in favor of Ashton Daniels in a come-from-behind victory over the Arkansas Razorbacks. Yesterday was when benching season truly kicked off, though, as not one but two preseason Heisman hopefuls saw their season come to an unceremonious end. First, turnover-prone Florida Gators quarterback DJ Lagway was sent to the sidelines in the second half after throwing three interceptions in the first two frames of play. This sent the internet into a tailspin and even had Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin getting in on the "fun." While this shouldn't come as a shock to anyone who has seen Lagway play at all this season, if you told me in August that Florida would be benching their starting QB in November against Kentucky of all teams, I would have thought you were crazy. Not to be outdone, another team with an interim head coach had to send their starting QB to the bench last night, as the LSU Tigers put Garret Nussmeier on ice in favor of Michael Van Buren while the offense stagnated against Alabama. This year hasn't exactly gone the way it was supposed to for the Tigers or Nussmeier, but this was a guy who eschewed the NFL Draft to come back and win a National Championship in Baton Rouge. But, as has been the case all year, the offense has been downright offensive and is the reason the Bayou Bengals are in business for a new head coach. As a matter of fact, both of these benched quarterbacks are a big reason their coaches are out of a job. A lot of it has to do with the pride and stubbornness of Billy Napier and Brian Kelly, but their quarterbacks definitely bear somewhat of the blame. As for who's next, it's tough to say. NIL "contracts" have muddied the waters when it comes to benching high-profile players. I was shocked to even see Lagway being taken out of the game, knowing what I know about his compensation, and I'm sure Nussmeier is in a similar boat. Players like Cade Klubnik and Lanorris Sellers have vastly underperformed relative to expectations, so they could be next on the proverbial chopping block. But, suffice it to say, Lagway and Nussmeier won't be the last big-name QBs to ride the pine this season. Welcome to benching season, folks!
