The cheers were so loud at Tiger Stadium that junior quarterback Danny Etling could barely call a play in the huddle.
The mere sight of Etling running out to the field brought a roaring cheer from a crowd of 98,389 LSU fans.
LSU coach Les Miles called on Etling to replace his ineffective junior quarterback Brandon Harris, who started the game with a 1-for-4, eight-yard performance.
Etling, in his first drive, marched the Tigers 70 yards downfield for a touchdown score, including a 46-yard touchdown pass to senior tight end DeSean Smith, who caught his first touchdown in an LSU jersey.
“It was a pretty cool feeling,” Etling said. “It was pretty nice, especially because we were down at the time. It was nice to put ourselves in a position to succeed.”
Harris stood on the sidelines alone, watching as Etling led the Tigers to three straight scoring drives and showed composure while throwing for 100 yards in the first half.

Brandon Harris standing alone on the sidelines watching #LSU‘s current offensive series. pic.twitter.com/Kg11Y1yKfa
— Joshua Thornton (@JoshuaThornton_) September 11, 2016

“The main thing was he was calm, and he was patient,” sophomore running back Derrius Guice said. “Whenever your name is called upon, you got to seize the moment.”
Miles says the 6-foot-3, 218-pound quarterback was not “comfortable,” and told Etling to just be himself.
The former Purdue quarterback hadn’t thrown a pass in a college football game in two seasons after sitting out last season because of NCAA transfer rules.
Earlier in the week, Miles said he didn’t want to make a quarterback change unless the Tigers were already winning the game by a significant amount.
After the game, Miles said he would’ve liked to bring Etling in the game last week against Wisconsin, but didn’t want to put him in a “rough spot.”
But with Harris’ erratic play, and without star tailback Leonard Fournette, he had no choice.
The LSU offense sputtered to the tune of two-straight three-and-out drives in the first quarter with Harris under center.
For Harris, the roles were reversed.
In 2014, Harris, a freshman at the time, was applauded by fans when he took the field to replace former LSU quarterback Anthony Jennings, who put up numbers similar to Harris’ against Jacksonville State.
This time, it was Harris being booed and Etling being cheered at the change of quarterbacks.
Etling, who lost his starting job at Purdue in 2014, said he “empathized” with Harris after being in the same position as him two years ago.
“It’s not a fun position,” he said. “It’s terrible. It’s something maybe only quarterbacks can understand — something I definitely understand — and I really wouldn’t wish it upon anyone.”
Etling cooled down in the second half, misfiring on six straight pass attempts, including an underthrown ball to junior wide receiver Malachi Dupre that resulted in an interception in the end zone.
“He was not perfect by any means,” Miles said.
While Etling didn’t throw for 300-plus yards, he did the little things for the LSU offense. With Etling in the game, LSU converted 18 first downs, six of which were from passing plays.
It remains to be seen if Miles will continue to start Etling going forward, but he does give the embattled 12th-year coach something to think about.
“The season is a long season,” Miles said. “We’re going to need both of them, and I would expect a competition both guys would understand that we would go forward from there.”