...our coaches will make "suggestions" to the QB for the play to run. The QB will advise the players that, in an ideal situation, these are the routes that he would like them to run.
The QB snaps the ball, and within milliseconds, when it is clear to the QB that protection is breaking down and he will not have an iota of protection, the play devolves into backyard football, and the trick is to spot a halfway open receiver while running for his life before he reaches the sideline or gets eaten alive.
At least, from watching MSU, that's the way I've been brought up to believe the game is played.