We found out before the start of Saturday's Auburn game against Georgia that head coach Gus Malzahn would be starting Jeremy Johnson at quarterback. Johnson had gotten the start the week before because of Sean White's knee injury, and it seems like he still might not be 100%.
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Well, that was exactly the case.
Malzahn: Made the call to play both quarterbacks before the game.
Sean still isn't 100 percent
— AUBlog (@AUBlog) November 14, 2015
However, Malzahn still made the call to insert White into the game at certain points to try and jumpstart a stalling offense. Didn't work; White was completely ineffective with 1-for-5 passing, leading three straight 3-and-out drives. (the third technically ended with Johnson back in)
While Jeremy Johnson played poorly, too, the offense was running better when he was out there. Turnovers or not, Auburn was able to move the ball better under Johnson, and if White still was not 100%, then he should not have been out there.
White has played better than Johnson this year from the quarterback position. However, Malzahn made a decision before the game to start Johnson and he should have given Johnson full reign over the game. If White was still hurt, then there was no need to risk further injury.
The 20-13 loss drops Auburn to 5-5 on the season. The Tigers will have to get a win next week against Idaho, otherwise their bowl eligibility will lie in the hands of beating No. 2 Alabama.
