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Play Calling Did Not Cost Tulsa
Published: 10/22/2009 5:01 PM
Last Modified: 10/22/2009 5:01 PM

There will be much debate in the coming days about the plays that are being called at Tulsa.
Well, it wouldn't matter who is calling the plays if you can't run the ball inside when you need and you can't protect the quarterback.
Tulsa has been good on offense in recent years not so much because of the plays called.
It has been good on offense because it had a line that could give its quarterbacks some time to throw passes.
It is hard to blame play calling when your quarterback gets sacked five times by a team that had just four QB sacks in the previous six games.
Some might question why Tulsa went to inside runs almost exclusively late in the loss to UTEP. That is worthy of debate. Yet, if you block the second worst defense in major college football (ranked 119th out of 120) then we aren't talking about the reasons for the loss.
It would seem TU's offensive woes are more about personnel than the plays being called.



Reader Comments 3 Total
Ignatz (3 years ago)
strange story, which personnel do you specifically have in mind? People such as myself who have seen you on tv know you can talk sports but I have to wonder what game you saw last night? If you are saying that the offensive line is so horrible that there would be absolutely nothing TU could have done to gat a first down when faced by the mighty Miner defense then we might as well let the offensive co-ordinator (or even the QB) call plays since it makes no differance anyway.
BLA (3 years ago)
Klein, I agree somewhat, but changing to a more "conservative" play calling scheme with 7-8 minutes left (6 when the last failed 3rd down conversion hit) is somewhat of a prevent mode to run time off the clock. TU's offense is at its best when it runs the wildcat, followed by a crazy screen pass, and some QB option passes/runs. Clay had a great game the other night...but there needed to be 2 plays called on that 3rd down...1 that could be used if UTEP was playing a pass/blitz scheme and one if it appeared they were packing the box, which they did. Kinne could have audibled to a flanker screen or run an option left away for the strong side of the defense and get Clay on the outside where we all know a DB is not taking him down right away or 1 on 1. I have no issues with running a safe play there, but we have all seen that TU runs the screen pass and wildcat as well as any school in the nation and it keeps the defense guessing because they never really know where the ball is going. (Case in point, Kinne's rushing TD...had the cameras and play by play guys wondering who had the ball).
Lance-a-lot (3 years ago)
Play calling did not cost Tulsa? Are you effin serious?

You said: "[i]t wouldn't matter who is calling the plays if you can't run the ball inside when you need[...]"

OK Einstein, if you can't run the ball up the middle, and you know it...WHY CALL THE PLAY ANYWAY?!?

Hey, I got an idea! Since we can't run up the middle, and they have stacked the box...maybe we should try something else. Brilliant!

Running a play that had NO chance of working, especially when UTEP was expecting it is exactly why playcalling DID have a role in the loss.
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Klein's Korner

Tulsa World senior sports columnist John Klein is in his fourth decade of covering sports. He started his newspaper career at The Daily Ardmoreite in 1977 and moved to the Tulsa World in 1978. He served 10 years as sports editor for the Tulsa World before being named to his current position in 2005. He also spent five years as the Southwest Conference beat writer for the Houston Post. He has won many writing awards and is a former Oklahoma Sports Writer of the Year.

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