Finally found someone who said Stoops did the right thing
Published: 10/25/2010 11:21 PM
Last Modified: 10/25/2010 11:21 PM
Monday, I heard someone on sports talk radio say that if you asked 100 football coaches, 100 would say they would have kicked the extra point at Missouri last Saturday night to make it 36-28 with six minutes left, not go for 2 as Bob Stoops did.
OK. So Oklahoma supporters who claim they have a one-in-a-million coach are wrong. Stoops is actually one in 101.
But what about sportswriters? Is there anyone out there willing to side with Stoops?
Yep. His name is Matt Trowbridge. He writes for the Rockford (Ill.) Register Star. He’s the one in 101 coming to Stoops’ defense.
“It’s really a very easy argument. Let me explain,” Trowbridge explained. “You need 15 points, so one of your two touchdowns has to include a two-point conversion. If you wait until the end and you miss, you lose. Period. If you try for it first and miss, you know you need TWO scores now in the last six minutes. That gives you more options…”
Wait, Matt, hold on a sec. You’re right, you miss the 2-pointer at the end, you lose. But at least you had a shot to tie.
You miss the 2-pointer as the Sooners did, you lose with 6:06 still on the clock. You’ve blown your momentum. You’ve also pretty much blown your chance to tie, still needing two scores with a sputtering offense.
OK, sorry to interrupt…
“…And it’s easier to get those two scores than you might think,” Trowbridge continued. “If you trail by only eight points, defenses might play you honest. Make it nine and you very likely could encounter a prevent defense. We all know how well those work.”
It’s an interesting assessment, really. There’s just one flaw: If you trail by eight points, who cares how defenses are playing you, as long as you are one score from tying the game? Make it nine, you might get that prevent defense, but you still have to score twice.
-- Guerin Emig
Written by
Guerin Emig
Sports Writer
