Our countdown to date:
#5 - After a dismal three and out start, Alabama’s Nick Saban calling a fake punt from his 20 yard line, at 4th and 23, on the opening series of the National Championship game.
#4 - Ole Miss’ Houston Nutt wasting nearly half the season before finally utilizing star TB Dexter McCluster.
3. And then there was one…
It was certainly a long evening, and therefore we can appreciate that Texas’ head man Mack Brown might have been spent. Heck, we were all exhausted watching the complete beat down Ndamukong Suh and his Nebraska teammates were hanging on the Longhorn’s in the Big 12 Championship Game – particularly on QB Colt McCoy.
As you do when a freakishly swift 300 lb man repeatedly uses your head as a shovel, McCoy was struggling; arguably through the worst game of his college career. Before his last two drives, McCoy was 12-for-25, for just 110 yards, zero TDs but 2 INTs, and had been sacked seven times - four of them by Suh. Moreover, there was still another INT and two sacks waiting for him in those final minutes.
A long night by even the most generous standard.
That McCoy (and by extension the Texas offense) was beleaguered was obvious to everyone, except apparently the Texas coaching staff, which is Brown’s job.
Nevertheless, Brown marshaled the troops after they had squandered the lead, and with just 1:44 left, orchestrated the comeback that would send Bevo & Co. on to Pasadena and a date with Alabama. And glory, no doubt.
First, though, was the matter of one small FG. And one long second.
When you’re already in FG range and your QB is having the mother-of-all off nights, AND you’re losing, you try to maximize chance and minimize mistakes. Particularly with the National Championship game on the line, and a good kicker on your bench.
With just seconds remaining on a ticking clock (seven to be precise), the last thing you do is anything that risks those seconds. A Pop Warner coach knows this. YOU know this. One thing you don’t do is call a rollout pass. And if you do, you most certainly remind your QB to throw it in the dirt if nothing’s there. Time is the enemy, not an extra handful of yards.
Yet here was Texas, with the Brass Ring invite on the line, after struggling on offense all night (and we’re being polite), running a rollout pass, wasting time with its battered QB… Who not that shockingly lofted the ball aside when nothing was available, a split second before being pounded for the 100th time by Suh. And with it, almost tossing away the season.
We won’t debate the merit of the one second added back on the clock, but it never should have come to that. It was a bonehead decision, executed poorly, and coached poorly. There were ~27 seconds at the end of the previous play. McCoy actually had time to walk towards the sideline for the next call.
Brown should have emphasized the clock to his coaches. He should have motioned McCoy to throw the ball away quickly if nothing was there. He should have coached him to throw it away quickly if nothing was there; he’d had the kid for four years. He should have overruled a rollout pass. Or while not optimal, he could have even used his timeout once the rollout was called, knowing better. There’s more, but you can pick from those.
The play to run is shotgun, quick read, and if the primary receiver isn't open - WIDE open - throw the ball at the feet of the safety valve. And throw it hard.
Again, remember where we are: well within FG range (obviously), and with an offense that had been tripping over itself for 59 and a half minutes.
What are you doing, Brown? Was it arrogance or stupidity? Or most likely just poor coaching.
Bottom Line: the down should never have unfolded the way it did, and as the head coach the buck stops with Mack – as he’d be the first to tell you.
Were this game @ Baylor in October, particularly with the “happy happy, joy joy” ending, it might have just slipped by unnoticed. But given everything that was riding on the line, it was stunning. And vaults into our top five.
2. So that’s where that one second went
It’s hard to know where to even begin here.
Look, we think LSU’s HC Les Miles gets a bit of an unfair rap. Which likely has a lot to do with his 1950’s wordsmithing and, let’s just be brutally honest here Les, your larger than life melon. And your penchant for perching atop it a kid-sized lid.
Not to mention your fondness for handling time about as neatly as that rabbit in Alice’s wonderland.
By now, every CFB fans has watched or read about the infamous Hail (Short) Mary in Oxford, and the Tigers inability to run a play with one second left, standing impotently on the Rebels six yard line with the final scoreboard reading: Ole Miss 25, LSU 23.
Right off the bat – yes. Yes, many things went wrong before that, and we've heard them all. Yes, OC Gary Crowton’s play calling was suspect. Yes, rookie QB Jordan Jefferson took a sack when the play called for a quick pass or throw it away. Yes, a Hail Mary that’s long on Hail and short on Mary is, well, not something one typically expects, or for which one plans.
But that’s just window dressing - which like a good magician, draws your attention away from the facts.
Fact: Miles inexplicably allowed 17 precious seconds to slip off the clock before calling his final time out, leaving the Tigers with only nine. Had he simply called the time out in reasonable fashion after the third down whistle, LSU would have had buckets of time following Terrance Toliver's infamous catch (the clock having stopped briefly after the Hail Mary to move the chains). Jefferson could have calmly snapped and spiked the ball, after which the Tiger's FG team likely connects on the chip shot. Inexcusable blunder, and with it a victory squandered.
Fact: During the time out, Jefferson should have been coached to throw for the end zone in the unlikely event the pass was shy of a TD, but with stoppage for a first down. One second is enough time to snap a ball. It’s unusual to see this happen on the heels of a Hail Mary attempt, but QBs are coached to race up after a first down and snap the ball quickly. Some blame can be shared by the rookie QB, but again, it’s Miles’ responsibility to recognize that and remind Jefferson of the limited potential outcomes, and what to do.
Fact: LSU was unable to rush its field goal unit on for the game winning chip shot. Why? Mysteriously, the unit wasn't even lined up on the sideline at the ready. Yes, most people are expecting a Hail Mary to be the last play, and one can argue the likely success of rushing your kicking team onto the field with just one tic of the clock to navigate. But it didn't matter because the option wasn't even there. And what if Toliver had fallen with two or three seconds left? It’s the head man’s job to prepare for any intangible, and coming out of a time out there was no reason for the unit not to be standing by... None other than poor coaching.
As we’ve written previously, all three mistakes fall at the feet of Les Miles, only serving to magnify the blunder. And Les’ previous brushes with (and narrow escapes from) time management gaffes only serve to further amplify this one.
The only thing that saves Miles from being #1 on our list is timing. Were this game anything other than a late season matchup between two old conference rivals – were LSU still in the running for a conference-or-better championship – than this would have taken the top spot in our countdown.
As it is, it was merely a blunder that will both define and follow Miles just as long, and as profoundly, as his National Championship.
Though as a writer always looking for ‘good copy’, may I just add, God Bless ya, Les!
Russ Mitchell covers the SEC for www.CollegeFootballNews.com. He may be reached at russmitchellsec@gmail.com, or on Twitter @russmitchellsec
Mitchell Blog: 2009's Worst Coaching, Part I – July 27, 2010
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