Was that a worst case scenario for our QB situation?

[Pelado]

Who was the head coach, who was the OC, who was the QB coach? Bosco may have had an advantage.

Bosco did have several advantages over Heaps, including each of those you mention. He also had 2-3 years of learning the offense, watching film of opponents, and seeing another guy win games. Somehow, with no prior starts that I know of, he came into 1984 and led the team to an undefeated record and a national championship.

My point in bringing up Bosco is not that Heaps has every advantage that Bosco did. That 1984 team started the season unranked. They had just lost a future NFL Hall-of-Famer at QB. Nobody nationally looked at them and expected greatness. Similarly, Tennessee won the national championship the year after Peyton Manning graduated.

Starts today should be based on what gives the team the best chance to win today. If the coaches determine it's a tossup, then give the guy with the most upside the job. When the guy with the most upside doesn't perform well enough to beat USU, then you have to reevaluate who gives you the best chance to win.