Poor decision not to go on offense first in OT

[TigerFan54 102]

The defense had been on the field at the end of regulation and giving it their all. I think they were spent -- and it showed on the very first carry of OT. (Nova had to be pass-oriented for that final drive, which essentially neutralized Covington, who had gouged us all game.) Better to give the O the ball first in OT and let the D rest.

I also fault RA for other bad decisions -- when we were down 35-28 and had third and a half yard in Nova territory, he has TF in the shotgun. Things didn't work out well. When you need to a first down to keep the drive going, run a QB sneak. Too often we were going for the home run instead of moving the ball steadily downfield.

One other coaching decision that backfired: Kickoff goes out of bounds, but instead of taking the ball at the 35, RA has them kick again -- and Platt falls down at the 17 -- loss of 18 yards, and we go three and out.

Final observation: Without Shane Simpson, our offense is essentially all TF. Our only decent gains on the ground were when he took off; otherwise, he was throwing the ball. 

 

[mat1992 2,231]

I didn't really think of it that way but if we didn't score in the first possession, they would have won anyhow. Everybody's defense is spent at the time of the game and we certainly rotate guys up front all night. We just don't rotate our secondary or linebackers, at least not a lot.

[Chris Datres 423]

Doesn't matter who it is, EVERY team goes defense first in OT so they know what they need to get in the bottom half of that first inning.  I was thinking that had we scored a TD to match Nova's that we'd go for 2 and try to win it right there.  I'd have had no problem with that decision.  But to go pass-pass on 3rd/4th and 1 from the 7 was a giant mistake.  We have the big back in Yeedee, if we can't get that 1 yard on 2 plays, then we don't deserve it.  Between that and the defensive breakdowns throughout the game and especially on the final drive, those are the things that bother me the most about this one.  Had 4-0/2-0 right there for us and we gave it away.

[TUTigers 119]

My biggest gripe is that it’s 3rd and 1 and you need a first down to keep OT going and you throw it twice. Lots of head scratching coaching decisions tonight. 

[Ghost of andy7171 45]

Both teams get the ball in OT.  Going second just means you know how many points you need to score.

 

Losing Shane Simpson is going to be painful the rest of the season.

[TuTigers2012 1,061]

The poor decisions were the 3rd and 4th and 1 calls.  Nova was going to score no matter what, as they kept running the same couple of plays extremely successfully against our lost defense.  Even though we were the home team, I would have went for 2 to try and win it like previously stated.