One could also say that starting your second and third team players versus teams like Mercer or Southern Miss or New Mexico State is just as disrespectful . You are basically saying to your opponents they aren’t worthy of your best players or our best game. I don’t know about you, but as a player and or coach that would motivate me more than a coach running his offensive system with backups late after the contest is decided..
Do we need to keep starters in until 10 minutes to go and up 40 points?. Of course not. And many times CNS will run 2nd team oline with 1st team skill players or 1st team oline with the 2nd and third WR’s, RB’s and QB’s.But that is only a series or two. But when it comes to wholesale substitution they go “plain vanilla”. And like this year and last night, Brooks, Hall, Holden among others making those catches in a full playbook offense would have benefited. Development comes from practice and reps. Experience comes from playing and making those plays when they count. Standing around watching Tyson or Milroe hand the ball to the 3rd or 4th string RB on dive plays doesn’t build experience.
They can’t catch a ball if it isn’t thrown. And most of the time they were on the field with Tyson or Milroe and they had less than 30 attempts between them.