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jacobkdoyle · 10-01-2017, 10:21 PM

Just an observation/comment on the topic of Fickell getting adjusted to head coaching duties:

-Situational decision making...We were down 31-7 and scored a TD about 1 minute into the 4th quarter. Why didn't we go for 2? We elected to keep it at a 3 possession game and make it 31-14. Then again when we scored to make it 38-21, we didn't go for 2. Why not? Why keep it at 3 possessions? It didn't end up mattering in this game. But we were right at the goal line at the end of the game. What if we would've scored with 30 seconds left? We wouldn't have had a chance to make it a 1 score game, with a potential onside kick and couple plays before a shot at the end zone type situation. Fickell was talking about making our own breaks...well doesn't that sort of thing qualify? Not going for 2 on 2 different occasions would've been a really silly reason to not have a shot at the end had we scored. Those kind of little things make me a little nervous.

-We also had the ball down by 24 with I think 8/9 minutes left. Our defense was worn out. We weren't stopping them. So when we had 4th and 6 at around our own 48, why did we punt? Why weren't we thinking in terms of "we need 3 TDs and the 2 pt conversions and we have 8 minutes to do it?" We already had the ball, so why give it back? If we pick up 6 yards there, we could be in position to cut it to 2 scores by the 6 minute mark. Instead we got the ball back with 5 minutes left, still down 3 scores...and again, we didn't even go for 2 when we did score.

I know we had a minuscule chance to win the game there. But we didn't do the things necessary to even give it a shot. I just don't understand it at all. Weird stuff happens in college sports all the time...but if you're losing you gotta swing for the fences and "make your own breaks". I mean, once we're down 24, who really cares if we fail on a 4th down or don't get a 2 point conversion? We're screwed anyway, so what's the difference if going all out makes it worse?

We are so early into all of this. There's really no sense in getting bent out of shape about it. Just have to hope it improves. But there's something in the back of my mind that worries about Fickell's in-game decisions. He seems to be a rockstar in every other facet. And that's great. But I just don't really get how we came to the decisions that we did on these plays in the 2nd half. And I don't know why that's something that would have to be learned. I just hope any of these kind of things don't cost us down the road, when we're hopefully competing for conference titles.

10-01-2017, 10:21 PM	#2
jacobkdoyle Epic Member Join Date: Mar 2014 Posts: 17,011	Just an observation/comment on the topic of Fickell getting adjusted to head coaching duties: -Situational decision making...We were down 31-7 and scored a TD about 1 minute into the 4th quarter. Why didn't we go for 2? We elected to keep it at a 3 possession game and make it 31-14. Then again when we scored to make it 38-21, we didn't go for 2. Why not? Why keep it at 3 possessions? It didn't end up mattering in this game. But we were right at the goal line at the end of the game. What if we would've scored with 30 seconds left? We wouldn't have had a chance to make it a 1 score game, with a potential onside kick and couple plays before a shot at the end zone type situation. Fickell was talking about making our own breaks...well doesn't that sort of thing qualify? Not going for 2 on 2 different occasions would've been a really silly reason to not have a shot at the end had we scored. Those kind of little things make me a little nervous. -We also had the ball down by 24 with I think 8/9 minutes left. Our defense was worn out. We weren't stopping them. So when we had 4th and 6 at around our own 48, why did we punt? Why weren't we thinking in terms of "we need 3 TDs and the 2 pt conversions and we have 8 minutes to do it?" We already had the ball, so why give it back? If we pick up 6 yards there, we could be in position to cut it to 2 scores by the 6 minute mark. Instead we got the ball back with 5 minutes left, still down 3 scores...and again, we didn't even go for 2 when we did score. I know we had a minuscule chance to win the game there. But we didn't do the things necessary to even give it a shot. I just don't understand it at all. Weird stuff happens in college sports all the time...but if you're losing you gotta swing for the fences and "make your own breaks". I mean, once we're down 24, who really cares if we fail on a 4th down or don't get a 2 point conversion? We're screwed anyway, so what's the difference if going all out makes it worse? We are so early into all of this. There's really no sense in getting bent out of shape about it. Just have to hope it improves. But there's something in the back of my mind that worries about Fickell's in-game decisions. He seems to be a rockstar in every other facet. And that's great. But I just don't really get how we came to the decisions that we did on these plays in the 2nd half. And I don't know why that's something that would have to be learned. I just hope any of these kind of things don't cost us down the road, when we're hopefully competing for conference titles.