I don’t remember Tom sitting QBs who complete 60% of their passes with a QB rating of 133.1 who have 6 TDs to 5 INTs, with one of those being a desperation heave. Not to mention the 290 yards rushing and 3 TDs.
Tom did something similar within his running-based offense...
1996 Frost Season (except Orange Bowl): 126 carries, 438 yards, 9 TD (couldn't quickly find the individual fumble stats); 104-200-3 (52%), 1440 yards, 13 TD
1996 Frost Orange Bowl: 9 carries, 62 yards, 2 TDs; 11-22-0, 136 yards, 0 TD
1997 Frost Game 1 vs. Akron: 11 carries, 123 yds, 2 TD, 2 fumbles; 7-13-0 passing, 67 yards, 0 TD
1997 Frost Game 2 vs. Central Florida before being pulled...
- N 2-5 N28 S.Frost rush over left end for loss of 1 yard to the NU27 (D.Devine,J.Benoit).
- N 3-8 N41 S.Frost rush up middle for 14 yards to the UCF45,
1ST DOWN NU (D.Washington,P.Miranda).
- N 1-10 U45 S.Frost pass incomplete to J.Lake.
- N 3-15 N50 S.Frost pass incomplete to M.Davison.
- N 2-9 N44 S.Frost pass incomplete to M.Davison.
- N 1-10 U43 S.Frost rush up middle for 4 yards to the UCF39 (D.Devine).
- N 1-10 U16 S.Jackson pass from S.Frost for 16 yards to the UCF0,
1ST DOWN NU,
TOUCHDOWN, clock 13:21.
Frost was pulled for a series or two (not sure if who was in there when Green fumbled on the possession after London's TD) against Central Florida in 1997 Game 2. At the time he was pulled, he had 3 carries for 17 yards and was 1/4 passing for 16 yards and a TD (which tied the game at 7).
To this point, Frost's Husker career numbers 149 carries, 640 yards (4.3 yd avg), 13 TDs rushing and 123-239-3 (51.4%), 1659 yards, 14 TDs passing. Yes, a 14/3 TD/INT ratio.
Frankie London was then inserted after UCF went up 10-7 on the next possession, here is how he performed...
- N 2-9 N36 F.London rush over left end for 8 yards to the NU44 (J.Benoit).
- N 1-10 U43 K.Cheatham pass from F.London for 30 yards to the UCF13,
1ST DOWN NU.
- N 2-5 U08 F.London rush over left end for 8 yards to the UCF0,
1ST DOWN NU,
TOUCHDOWN, clock 06:05.
That put NU up 14-10. We then muffed a punt, UCF went up 17-14, then Green fumbled but we held them to a 3 and out, and Frost drove us 70 yards to set up a 27-yard FG attempt before halftime, which Kris Brown missed.
Anyway, here's the leading QB stats for the preceding years:
PASSING
1996: Frost 104-200-3 (52.0%), 1440 yards, 13 TDs, 130.9 Rating
1995: Frazier 92-163-4 (56.4%), 1362 yards, 17 TDs, 156.1 Rating
1994a: Berringer 94-151-5 (62.3%), 1295 yards, 10 TDs, 149.5 Rating
1994b: Frazier 19-44-2 (43.2%), 273 yards, 4 TDs, 116.2 Rating
1993: Frazier 77-162-4 (47.5%), 1159 yards, 12 TDs, 127.1 Rating
1992a: Frazier 44-100-1 (44.0%), 727 yards, 10 TDs, 136.1 Rating
1992b: Grant 46-92-5 (50.0%), 479 yards, 5 TDs, 100.8 Rating
1991: McCant 97-168-8 (57.7%), 1454 yards, 13 TDs, 146.5 Rating
1990a: Joseph 34-78-6 (43.6%), 624 yards, 11 TDs, 141.9 Rating
1990b: Grant 32-69-4 (46.4%), 484 yards, 44 TDs, 112.8 Rating
1989: Gdowski 71-136-2 (52.2%), 1326 yards, 19 TDs, 177.3 Rating
1988: Taylor 72-151-7 (47.7%), 1067 yards, 11 TDs, 121.8 Rating
1987: Taylor 57-123-9 (46.3%), 902 yards, 13 TDs, 128.2 Rating
1986: Taylor 52-124-7 (41.9%), 808 yards, 6 TDs, 101.3 Rating
RUSHING
1996: Frost 126 carries, 438 yards (3.5 avg), 9 TDs
1995: Frazier 97 carries, 604 yards (6.2 avg), 14 TDs
1994a: Berringer 71 carries, 279 yards (3.9 avg), 6 TDs
1994b: Frazier 33 carries, 248 yards (7.5 avg), 6 TDs
1993: Frazier 126 carries, 704 yards (5.6 avg), 9 TDs
1992a: Frazier 86 carries, 399 yards (4.6 avg), 7 TDs
1992b: Grant 40 carries, 148 yards (3.0 avg), 6 TDs
1991: McCant 117 carries, 654 yards (5.6 avg), 7 TDs
1990a: Joseph 91 carries, 554 yards (6.1 avg), 10 TDs
1990b: Grant 42 carries, 153 yards (3.6 avg), 0 TDs
1989: Gdowski 117 carries, 925 yards (7.9 avg), 13 TDs
1988: Taylor 157 carries, 826 yards (5.3 avg), 13 TDs
1987: Taylor 130 carries, 659 yards (5.1 avg), 8 TDs
1986: Taylor 130 carries, 537 yards (5.2 avg), 14 TDs
Frost's career numbers were fairly in line with prior QBs' passing (Berringer and Gdowski being outliers) when he was taken out vs. UCF, but below average rushing to that point. The QB position's success for Osborne was largely predicated on making the correct audible when getting into formation.
Anyway, one point being, Tom had pulled a QB for poor performance, whether for a season (1992 Frazier/Grant) or series (1997 Frost/London). My understanding is the 1997 pulling was a planned substitution to get Frankie London live game experience. The 1992 switch was for the long-term success of the program.
The other point being, stats aren't necessarily everything at QB. While gawdy numbers are great, decision making whether during the play or before the snap is a more important attribute.