After insane decision, Mack Brown in for many sleepless nights
And then, with 29 seconds left in the half, Alabama kicked a field goal to add to the lead, making the score 17-6. It had to be hard for Texas players and coaches to watch Alabama just grind them into submission. But there really wasn't much to be done about it. McCoy was in so many ways the soul of this Texas team. The Longhorns clearly lost all hope of winning when they realized he would not play. All Texas coaches could really hope to do was get to halftime and try to infuse some belief and energy back into the players.
The kickoff was returned to the Texas 28. There were 23 seconds left in the half. There was no reason to think Texas, with its backup quarterback, was going to score against Alabama with 23 seconds left. The Longhorns just wanted to run out the clock. Texas' Tre' Newton took a handoff and ran for nine yards -- enough to discourage Alabama from calling timeout. The clock ticked: 17, 16, 15 ... and then it stopped.
Texas had called timeout.
Texas ... had ... called ... timeout.
Inexplicable? No, that word doesn't quite cover it. Mack Brown called timeout. Why? Was he thinking his team could score against Alabama in the last 15 seconds of the half from his own 37? His quarterback was 1-for-9 with an interception for minus-four yards.
Well, anyway, who notices clock management at the end of halves? No, the timeout made no sense. But, hey, so what? Texas would undoubtedly pull out some safe play -- soon it would be halftime. There was no reason to get up in arms about it all.
Then, Gilbert dropped back and, as the rush came on, he indeed tried to throw the safest pass in the game: the shovel pass. Some call it the shuttle pass. Others the shuffle pass. Whatever it's called, nothing bad can happen. It can't be intercepted. If the ball is dropped, it's counted as an incomplete pass. It's safe.
about 2 years ago
ccmachine
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my favorite play of the game
actually it wasn’t the shuttle-bus pass nor the interception. It was that awesome stiff arm by Dareus when he planted Gilbert on his face. Almost heisman like pose. Shuttle passes go bad sometimes and when they get picked off it is usually by somebody built like a Bus. I just thought of this, could you call this ‘Gilbert being thrown under the Bus’? Hell that was funny.
Still the Kid's got spirit!
A 200 lb, 19 year old Freshman QB trying to tackle a 280 lb DT? Even as a Sooner you have to admit that it was gutsy on Garrett’s part (a bit foolish perhaps since you don’t want to lose him to injury on top of McCoy, but still gutsy).
As to the play call itself, what I find amusing is the double standard that exists (and no, I’m not referring to any sort of “UT bias”).
If a coach calls a trick play and it works he’s a gutsy genius. If it fails, but they win anyway, it’s buried in the game recap and everyone forgets. But if it fails and they lose, suddenly the coach is an idiot.
Objectively, how is throwing a shovel pass (truly the “safest” pass you can throw) on a 2nd and 1 any worse than calling a fake punt on a 4th and 23, from your own 8 yard line, in the first quarter??
The answer is, neither is any worse than the other. The only difference is that the coach that called the fake punt won the game.
by BurntOrangeForever on Jan 9, 2010 2:35 PM CST reply actions
I think the answer to your question is...
…because they was realistically no way they were going to score points against that defense with 15 seconds left in the half. I agree it was a safe call, but not as safe as just taking a knee and regrouping at halttime down 11.
By the way, I also thought that a couple of Saban’s coaching moves were pretty boneheaded as well.
I guess a combined $8.5MM doesn’t buy totally fool proof coaching.
Sooner71 - True....
but it’s not like there were any games left after this one, the linchpin for your entire offense is out, and his replacement was struggling to find a rhythm. I think (and I’ve nothing to back this up) that he decided to gamble, try for something that would give his team some momentum and some confidence. It backfired, BIGTIME. But that doesn’t mean that it wasn’t worth trying.
Yes, going into halftime down 11 would have been better, but going into halftime after a couple of big gains (and with a little luck, a score) makes the halftime pep talk a lot more effective.
Granted, it all went horribly south. The idea was sound, it just didn’t work.
I’ve noticed that lately coaches are willing to gamble a little more. Take Jim Tressel (OSU). A guy who epitomizes the Big10 style of football, who believes in defense, field position, time of possession, sweater vests, and offense (in that order).
Terrell Pryor (the next “Vince Young”) averages 21 pass attempts per game all year, and doesn’t attempt more than 17 in his last three games. They go to the Rose Bowl against Oregon, with that 800 lb BCS gorilla on their backs, and Pryor throws… 37 attempts.
I started to wonder if Mike Leach had somehow abducted Tressel and taken his place on the sideline (I’m still not convinced that isn’t what happened).
I don’t know if this is just a “blip” or the influence of unconventional coaches like Peterson and Leach, but coaches seem to be rolling the dice a bit more, be it shovel passes or fake punts.
by BurntOrangeForever on Jan 15, 2010 3:27 PM CST up reply actions
Yes Gilbert does have spirit and the desire to make a play
I was surprised how he came out in the 2nd half and made a game of it. I think he will work out for UT.
The only other time...
….I’d seen the shovel pass get intercepted was when Nate Hybl had one picked and taken to the house against Baylor in 2000. Of course it was total garbage time in a game that ended in a 56-7 OU victory. I believe that was the week after we ran the gauntlet of #3 KSU, #5 Texas and #1 Nebraska.
Don't get me started...
I guess BurntOrangeForever (or B.O. Forever) has a point. Calling a pass play with 15 seconds to go WAS genius, because I’m sure Alabama must have been thinking “only an idiot would do anything but take a knee right now”. There’s a fine line between genius and idiocy! But even if Newton busts it for 50 yards, it was still a dumb call made out of desperation.
Did you even
read my post?. I ask because I never said the play call was genius. My point was that if the play worked, resulted in a score, if UT had won the game – NO ONE WOULD REMEMBER IT.
Obviously none of those things happened, so naturally, everyone acts like that one play was what cost UT the game (as evidenced by the thread title, “After insane decision, Mack Brown in for many sleepless nights”) as opposed to the other mistakes and missed opportunities Texas had.
My point was that the shovel pass play call was no worse than calling a fake punt on a 4th and 23, from your own 8 yard line in the 1st quarter. But no one remembers that play (or badmouths Saban) because Alabama won.
But you were obviously too busy trying to be a troll (B.O. Forever – very clever) to actually read my post. Please return to your bridge little troll, I won’t waste any more time on you.
by BurntOrangeForever on Jan 15, 2010 3:42 PM CST up reply actions
Fake Punt
BurntOrangeForever,
Bama fan here. I could not believe what I was seeing when Saban called a fake punt!
I do not know what he was thinking. Unbelievable! Gilbert will be a great QB for Texas.
He had me on the edge of my seat when Texas had closed the gap to 3 points. It would have been a better game if Colt had not gotten injured. That sucked. I hope our two teams get a chance to play each other again next year. Texas will be the Big 12 champ again next year. Hopefully Bama can win the SEC again
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