Coach Shula made the correct call. This sounds pretty harsh, but in all honesty our team had done nothing at that point in the game to merit Shula's confidence. I'm fairly certain, based on the way our offensive line had been playing and the lack of success we'd had running the ball, that we would not convert a 4th and goal in that situation. You can say that it shows a lack of confidence in our players, etc. But the players have to earn that confidence by making plays. At that point in the game, we didn't look capable of picking up basically two full yards on fourth down against a stacked line of scrimmage. And I'm not trying to bash our players by any means. They went all-out yesterday and played as hard as they are humanly capable of playing. Fourth down and two against a stacked line of scrimmage close to the goal line is a tough, tough play for any team to execute.
Momentum is huge in college football, and particularly in games like this one. You have to think of this in the context of the situation. Going into the half with a lead instead of a tie on the road against the seventh-ranked team in the country is absolutely huge. If we come away with nothing in that situation, it swings the momentum dramatically in Tennessee's favor. Our offensive psyche appears so frail sometimes, I honestly believe that if we had come away with nothing in that situation, we might not have scored another point the entire game. It's easy to look back and say "Well, that was the difference in the game. It adds up. And we really didn't have anything to lose" but that's absolutely not the case. Shula played the percentages, which was the right call.
