Not kicking the field goal, the last drive, and the broken shutout streak

Submitted by bo_lives on

So I know the sky is falling and there are bigger concerns at hand, but for those of you folks who are still sober, I was wondering... What's your opinion on the decision to not kick the field goal on the second to last drive? What's the logic behind going for it on fourth down? It's hard to imagine Hoke was unaware of our 30-year no-shutout streak - why not just kick the field goal and send in the defensive 3rd string to finish the game? Obviously Wile could have used the extra in-game practice.

But instead of taking the points, we go for it and don't convert... ND sends in their offense and we let them run the clock down to 24 seconds, despite having 3 timeouts. Okay fine, let's pack it up and go home. Nope just kidding, we're going to send in our starting QB and start passing the ball as if we're still trying to score, and then watch him get leveled on the last play of the game after an INT.

This sequence just defied all logic. Not that this sort of thing has been a rare occurance in recent years or anything.

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corundum

September 7th, 2014 at 2:04 AM ^

Not so sure Wile would have made the FG anyway. Being shutout sucks, but we were going to lose either way. I have no problem with the decision to go for it. Plus, it might send Gardner the message that Hoke believes he can do it. Confidence is a good thing after a game like that.

Joined: 05/10/2012

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Gulo_Gulo

September 7th, 2014 at 2:16 AM ^

Since before tonight this blog almost reached a consensus that Gardner is the best quarterback... Maybe Hoke didn't care about protecting Gardner. If he gets hurt, he can start Shane, avoid the criticism for sitting Gardner. Of course then he'd receive criticism for getting Gardner hurt. My brain hurts. I don't think this was the biggest problem to focus on though. I just appreciate a thread that has some kind of relevant game question and doesn't recommended firing someone.

Joined: 11/06/2011

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BlueTimesTwo

September 7th, 2014 at 11:40 AM ^

If they were really trying to fight until the very end, why not use any of our timeouts?  That last pick (and the resulting cheapshot on Gardner) was the direct result of forcing the ball because  so little time was left.  We could have had over a minute instead of 20 seconds.

Also, the team may be in a fragile state mentally, but getting Funchess and possibly Gardner hurt on meaningless plays puts us in a fragile physical state.  By the end of the night, Gardner was a shell of his former self - afraid to run and hesitant to pass.  It is not all on him, but subjecting him to more hits and more picks doesn't help his confidence or that of the team.

I am not saying that Shane is a better QB at this point, but at what point is this just another form of "27 for 27?"  When something is not working, try something else.

The good news is that probably only two teams left on the schedule will have athletes like that on defense.  The bad news is that they are both our biggest rivals.

Joined: 06/30/2008

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vablue

September 7th, 2014 at 2:05 AM ^

I find it hard to imagine Hoke knew about the 30 year shutout streak.  And I would really hope such a meaningless thing would factor into what he was doing on the field.

Joined: 11/28/2011

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Tony Soprano

September 7th, 2014 at 11:55 AM ^

The game was lost no matter what at that point, but not getting shut out could have been a in-game consolation goal at the end there, something to at least shoot for and accomplish.  Small, but not meaningless.

Joined: 02/27/2010

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JohnnyV123

September 7th, 2014 at 2:12 AM ^

Kick the field goal. Maybe if the run on 3rd down went for 5 yards and it was 4th and 4 then you consider going for it on 4th down....but 4th and 9 was just silly the way our whole team was playing.

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remdog

September 7th, 2014 at 2:13 AM ^

I was thinking WTF at the end if that drive. A run into the line in 3rd and 9 and then going for it on 4th and long. WTF??? Why not try to get better position for a FG on 3rd down and then why not try a FG?? It's like the coaches just didn't have any pride and didn't give a f$&!. Michigan outgained ND but still lost 31-0. How??? By squandering every scoring opportunity. Lopsided officiating and multiple boneheaded turnovers also padded the margin. ND was better but not by a wide margin today despite their margin of victory.

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remdog

September 7th, 2014 at 2:58 AM ^

When is it wrong to just tell the truth? It is possible, believe it or not, for multiple factors to determine a final result or outcome. In this case, some lopsided officiating widened the margin. Just look at the box score. Did it determine the winner? No, of course not. But if you want to explain why there was a 31 point loss despite greater yardage, you can't ignore this factor. It's not an excuse. But it's useful when deciding how significant a loss it really was. Go back and look at the "dropped" ball by Funchess on a key failed 3rd down conversion. It was a PI that wasn't called - right after two PI's literally gave ND a TD. If you prefer to stick your head in the sand and ignore reality, go ahead. But don't criticize others who prefer not to do the same. It's important for Michigan players (and fans)to realize that the final score wasn't a true measure of how competitive they actually were.

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Gulo_Gulo

September 7th, 2014 at 3:32 AM ^

So how much of the wide margin that isn't so wide would have been mitigated by officiating? An ass kicking is an ass kicking. I just expect Michigan fans not to wine about unless it played a major role. The MSU remark was probably uncalled for though.

Joined: 11/06/2011

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mackbru

September 7th, 2014 at 2:42 AM ^

The real FG problem came on the first drive, when M's office was steamrolling down the field. Then, on 4th and a short 2, and after easily converting on previous fourth down, hoke decides to instead attempt a long FG with a kicker who has been very shaky. This play, coupled with the subsequent blocked FG, set a tone.


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Ryno2317

September 7th, 2014 at 3:06 AM ^

I agree with this. I knew we were in for a long night when we just didn't go for it on fourth down in the first quarter. On the road, you have to go for it rather than attempt long, iffy field goals with an average kicker. I think we need to make a change and I didn't think that until today.

Joined: 10/14/2013

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Mgodiscgolfer

September 7th, 2014 at 2:54 AM ^

If the team wanted to avoid a shutout, one of the earlier kicks should have been good enough for 3. If they would have kicked the field goal when you say anyone who watched the game would have said it was chicken shit (no pun) and for all intents and purposes the team was shutout.........wait till next year... I'm not sure what for but when I said that in '96 it worked. Goodnight all you red eyes who just pulled in I feel your pain.

Joined: 01/13/2011

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Tater

September 7th, 2014 at 3:19 AM ^

I agree with both sides of the officiating mini-debate.  Officials didn't cost Michigan the game because it was a thorough ass-kicking.  However, there were some really bad calls that went ND"s way, such as the aforementioned PI that didn't get called on the Funchess "drop."  I have no problem with someone mentioning it.

 

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BlueTimesTwo

September 7th, 2014 at 11:53 AM ^

Agreed.  It did not cost us the game, but it certainly padded the margin.  Either you are calling a tight game on PI, or you are not.  Call it both ways.  At a certain point, it does affect play, as our DBs start getting self-conscious about playing physical, while theirs feel free to mug receivers at will.  Another one that hurt was the receiver who caught the pass with his foot clearly on the sideline.  That turned a third-and-long into a third-and-one, forcing us to defend the short yardage run and opening up the long passing TD.  There was also an interception that looked iffy that was not even reviewed.

Again, that doesn't explain why we cannot run, why we drop passes, why we blow defensive assignments, why our o-line gets blown up regularly, why Wile cannot even come close to making a FG, etc., but doesn't help our cause either.

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M-Dog

September 7th, 2014 at 6:32 AM ^

I would have avoided the shutout.  It's naive to think it does not matter.

I can see not going for the FG, that was a long shot.  But I was pissed about not using the time outs to get more time for the last drive. 

Joined: 07/06/2008

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JayMo4

September 7th, 2014 at 8:36 AM ^

Not going for it on fourth and one on that first drive is the biggest blunder of the game IMO.  A TD on that drive makes it a very different ball game right off the bat.

Joined: 04/19/2013

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AMazinBlue

September 7th, 2014 at 10:02 AM ^

you kick the FG because it's the last streat/record Michigan holds.  Having the biggest stadium is BS these days, they never really "fill" it.  We have more wins but because we have played longer than most and we gave up the winning percentage to ND and by the quality of the two teams at this juncture, they will keep it for a while.

You kick the FG just so you aren't 'shut out".

I gave up on Hoke as a coach last night at that point.

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