Auburn football head coach Bryan Harsin earned his stripes with a stroke-of-genius decision to replace Bo Nix with TJ Finley.
Finley–a week ahead of a now must-watch battle in the Bayou against his former team LSU–did the absolute most spectacular thing he could have, given the circumstances, by evading a fourth-down sack and finding Shedrick Jackson in the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown.
He then eliminated the chance for Georgia State to win with a field goal on the return (more about that chance in a minute) with a 2-point conversion to Kobe Hudson go up 27-24.
Then, that aforementioned chance went up in Smoke.
Smoke Monday sent it back for a sixer and the Tigers turned a near implosion into a ten-point win, taking it 34-24.
Wow.
The Bo Nix era is seemingly over, and it had just peaked with his honorably charitable recognition of the A-Day meme. But now, Finley heads into Death Valley with an intense revenge game narrative against a Tigers team he struggled with during college football’s year from hell. And he does so with myriad momentum.
Auburn football HC Bryan Harsin just had his seminal sidelines moment
That call to create controversy in the QB room was clearly worth it, as Finley provided AU a spark that could now carry over into the beginning of SEC play.
This moment was needed. The 2021 season couldn’t amount to anything if it didn’t happen. A loss to Georgia State would have submarined this season and possibly even forced the Auburn football brain trust to see some Tigers coaching seats as warm.
Now, none of that applies. Auburn football got the job done after the third quarter switch under center, and their ranking may stay in tact too, particularly if Kansas State drops off. Wisconsin should drop out of the Top 25 and Fresno State’s win over still win-less UNLV wasn’t more impressive than what should affectionately be known as the TJ Finley passing of the torch game going forward.
Bryan Harsin met the moment of truth head-on. Next on the docket is breaking a 22-year winning drought down in the swamps of Louisiana.