Our initial game story with the postgame audio is up on the site now. Kyle is wring this week's more detailed analysis piece, and Matt is writing a notebook piece on Frank Nutile's performance and emptying the notebook on some other stuff.
Wanted to share some quick thoughts and details here before we hit the road to go home.
I know a lot of people, myself included, wondered what happened on the 51-yard field goal Aaron Boumerhi looked to have hit before it was wiped away by the delay of game call.
Here was my exchange with Geoff Collins after the game.
Question: What happened with not getting that timeout in on the field goal?
Collins: “It was right at the edge of the kick line, a little bit past where we said the kick line was, and our defense had been playing so good. I saw it going down, and then we just took it and pooched it because we thought we could pin them and then get the ball back in good field position, so I didn’t want to waste one right there."
But when I asked him again if they tried to get a timeout in there, Collins replied, “No, we didn’t.”
Part of the blame here is on Logan Marchi, the holder, for not getting the snap in, but it's also of course on the coaches for not getting them out there. What Collins was trying to say, I suppose, is that he didn't want to use a timeout, and I guess there's no guarantee that Boumerhi hits again from 51. But if you have a chance to put game-deciding points on the board at that time, I don't get the logic. The flag flew literally as the clock hit zero and the ball was snapped. Either way, a poorly-coached sequence that really hurt the team.
Although offensive coordinator Dave Patenaude has taken his fair share of criticism this season (and I was critical on Twitter of some of his Wildcat decisions) and will take more, I'm sure, for his offense not converting on third down in overtime, the defense should shoulder a lot of the blame for this loss.
Consider that with its backup quarterback (Frank Nutile), a walk-on center (Gordon Thomas) and two other players starting in new positions along the offensive line (Jaelin Robinson at left guard and James McHale at left tackle and later playing left guard), this offense put up 28 points and 506 yards.
The defense, on the other hand, was handed a seven-point lead and allowed Army's backup quarterback to tie the game in the span of 90 seconds. As I just wrote, Hopkins was 1 of 6 passing this season prior to Saturday with an interception. On the game-tying drive alone, Hopkins went 5 of 10 passing for 67 yards and converted three third downs, one with his feet and two with his arm, including a third-and-15. And Mike Jones has to be better in coverage on that touchdown. Heck, even commit pass interference if you have to. It's not a spot foul like it is in the NFL. Draw the flag, put Army at the 1 with maybe a second left and take your chances from there.
Wanted to share some quick thoughts and details here before we hit the road to go home.
I know a lot of people, myself included, wondered what happened on the 51-yard field goal Aaron Boumerhi looked to have hit before it was wiped away by the delay of game call.
Here was my exchange with Geoff Collins after the game.
Question: What happened with not getting that timeout in on the field goal?
Collins: “It was right at the edge of the kick line, a little bit past where we said the kick line was, and our defense had been playing so good. I saw it going down, and then we just took it and pooched it because we thought we could pin them and then get the ball back in good field position, so I didn’t want to waste one right there."
But when I asked him again if they tried to get a timeout in there, Collins replied, “No, we didn’t.”
Part of the blame here is on Logan Marchi, the holder, for not getting the snap in, but it's also of course on the coaches for not getting them out there. What Collins was trying to say, I suppose, is that he didn't want to use a timeout, and I guess there's no guarantee that Boumerhi hits again from 51. But if you have a chance to put game-deciding points on the board at that time, I don't get the logic. The flag flew literally as the clock hit zero and the ball was snapped. Either way, a poorly-coached sequence that really hurt the team.
Although offensive coordinator Dave Patenaude has taken his fair share of criticism this season (and I was critical on Twitter of some of his Wildcat decisions) and will take more, I'm sure, for his offense not converting on third down in overtime, the defense should shoulder a lot of the blame for this loss.
Consider that with its backup quarterback (Frank Nutile), a walk-on center (Gordon Thomas) and two other players starting in new positions along the offensive line (Jaelin Robinson at left guard and James McHale at left tackle and later playing left guard), this offense put up 28 points and 506 yards.
The defense, on the other hand, was handed a seven-point lead and allowed Army's backup quarterback to tie the game in the span of 90 seconds. As I just wrote, Hopkins was 1 of 6 passing this season prior to Saturday with an interception. On the game-tying drive alone, Hopkins went 5 of 10 passing for 67 yards and converted three third downs, one with his feet and two with his arm, including a third-and-15. And Mike Jones has to be better in coverage on that touchdown. Heck, even commit pass interference if you have to. It's not a spot foul like it is in the NFL. Draw the flag, put Army at the 1 with maybe a second left and take your chances from there.
