Following Bo Nix’s season-ending–and, as it would turn out, Auburn football career-ending–ankle injury that required surgery, TJ Finley stepped into the starting role and suffered three straight losses to close out 2021.
The Birmingham Bowl turned out to be a home game gone awry for the Tigers, who were bested by #21 Houston on Tuesday afternoon. After capturing the lead in the third quarter from a Kobe Hudson end-zone fade, AU squandered it in the fourth when Clayton Tune (and one of the many pesky Auburn penalties) took the Cougars 80 yards and never got it back.
TJ Finley’s final drive resulted in three straight incompletions, and for the game, he went 19/37…and some of the 18 that didn’t land in a Tiger’s hands were wildly overthrown, and some were thrown at the feet of receivers.
We’d be remiss not to mention a fourth-down Shedrick Jackson catch being overturned and Smoke Monday being ejected on yet another phantom targeting call. Those were deflating moments that seriously turned the tide for both teams.
But ultimately, what fans seem to have gotten out of this game, is that TJ Finley just might not be the guy in 2022:
We get it!! TJ Finley is just not it!
— Shanks (@Shanks205_) December 28, 2021
Make the change!!!!
If one thing is crystal clear, it’s that TJ Finley cannot be the starting quarterback. He’s a fine backup option and all, but he cannot be the starter next year.
— Ethan G | 🏎🏁🏆 (@efgregs) December 28, 2021
This will be the last game TJ Finley starts at auburn
— Blain Crain (@Blain_Crain) December 28, 2021
No clear-cut answer is in the portal now, even if Connor Bazelak is available, but 4-star Savannah product Holden Geriner looks like the guy to go to if Dematrius Davis isn’t going to get his chance under Bryan Harsin.
Auburn football fans just don’t want TJ Finley
It’ll be hard to disassociate Finley with the first team to finish below .500 since Gene Chizik’s final season. Tiger fans appear to have lost faith in the LSU transfer already.