Monday Tailgate: Lessons learned from college football Week 12
As November rolls inexorably toward December and the games become ever more meaningful, the consequences of losing seem to outweigh the benefits of winning.
That only stands to reason, one supposes, because in the end there can be only one champion. But the number of teams who have a realistic chance to be that ultimate victor continues to dwindle. Barring a lot of chaos, the list no longer seems to include the defending champ, proving once again that an undefeated campaign is extraordinarily hard to achieve.
Here are some more lessons we learned in Week 12 of the college football season:
Sometimes, silence is golden
Social media can be the very definition of a double-edged sword. That's especially true for players, for whom the ability to communicate directly with fans must constantly be weighed against the negative consequences of saying something in public that might be better left private. Ohio State coach Urban Meyer and his staff couldn't have been pleased when, in the aftermath of the team's first loss of the season, a couple of the best-known Buckeyes took to Twitter to vent their frustration with the way the game unfolded.
While many analysts agreed that the gameplan might not have been the best to take advantage of Ezekiel Elliott's abilities, most also agree that it might not have been the best form for him to express that opinion so soon after the fact.
Desperate measures, Pt. I
The Fox on-air crew wondered aloud if Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy might want to rethink his decision to attempt an on-side kickoff with the Cowboys trailing Baylor by 10 in the fourth quarter. Still, it's hard to argue with the coach's reasoning. There were only five minutes remaining in regulation, and the Cowboys needed to score twice with limited time whether they kicked deep or not.
As it happened, Baylor ran off nearly three minutes and scored a clinching TD with the short field, but trying to keep the ball away from that offense, regardless of who was quarterbacking it, was a sound strategy in that situation.
Desperate measures, Pt. II
The light of hindsight wasn't quite as kind to TCU coach Gary Patterson, however, as his calls for two-point tries in the third quarter and in the game's final minute ultimately proved costly.
The TCU defense had established leverage with Oklahoma starting QB Baker Mayfield out of the game in the second half. The Horned Frogs, too, were struggling to move the ball without Trevone Boykin in the lineup but were beginning to find some things that worked after intermission.
Coaches often err on the side of caution, so Patterson's boldness was refreshing, but in this case he probably should have resisted the temptation to go for too much too soon.
Closing the deal
There's one case when a late two-point try is warranted, however, and one coaching staff deserves plaudits for making the correct decision. It wasn't a game with major playoff implications, but it was a team that needed a win to keep its postseason hopes alive.
Minnesota was nursing a 24-23 lead against Illinois when Shannon Brooks broke off a 75-yard TD run to put the Golden Gophers up by seven with 1:25 to go. An extra point would have meant the Fighting Illini could at best tie the game with a two-point conversion, but Minnesota coach Tracy Claeys and his crew instead opted for a two-point try of their own to make it a two-possession game.
The risk in that situation is minimal, because most teams would likely play for overtime anyway. The decision was rewarded when Golden Gophers QB Mitch Leidner scored the deuce on a keeper to effectively seal the 32-23 win.
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