Mullen’s logic when he went for two...

[CraigD]

If I remember correctly, UF was down by 14 and they scored a TD. Now down by 8, extra point pending. Why go for two? If you miss it you’re down by 8 and you’re forced to go for two if you score another touchdown, with a tie/loss on the line instead of a win. Seems like you go for the point there and then play on for the next touchdown if you prefer. I’m just not so sure why he felt that he had to get so creative and out-of-the-box at that juncture.

Any of you have a better explanation for me other than Mulln being Mullen?

 

[CullmanTide]

He saw his team as being worn out. He didn't think they could win in OT and wanted to give them hope.

 

[B1GTide]

If I remember correctly, UF was down by 14 and they scored a TD. Now down by 8, extra point pending. Why go for two? If you miss it you’re down by 8 and you’re forced to go for two if you score another touchdown, with a tie/loss on the line instead of a win. Seems like you go for the point there and then play on for the next touchdown if you prefer. I’m just not so sure why he felt that he had to get so creative and out-of-the-box at that juncture.

Any of you have a better explanation for me other than Mulln being Mullen?

I agree with his logic - he wanted to keep up the momentum and try to win the game. But when he had to burn the time out, he changed all of that because Alabama no longer had to get a first down to win. All Alabama had to do to win was recover the kick.

The decision to go for 2 was solid. The decision to burn the time out was rookie head coach stupid

 

[DzynKingRTR]

No idea what that lunatics thought process is.

Like you said, the timing was odd.

 

[denver]

He'd seen our goalline defense and felt pretty comfortable he could get 2 no problem....wasn't wrong...

 

[TideEngineer08]

Desperation, season over because the playoffs weren’t going to happen, and he was going all out for a win. He knew if he could get the onside, they were scoring again. He wanted no part of overtime. It was a gamble, but a good one for a team with nothing to lose.

 

[OSUTideFan]

Because he couldn’t go for three

 

[deliveryman35]

He was basically conceding that he did not want to go to OT.

 

[Crimson1967]

I would have been worried about overtime. I think Florida would have had the advantage.

 

[davefrat]

i agree it was about not wanting OT, and using a timeout was stupid, but it sure gave me heartburn knowing that IF they got the ball back and scored it basically assured a loss for us.

 

[DzynKingRTR]

i agree it was about not wanting OT, and using a timeout was stupid, but it sure gave me heartburn knowing that IF they got the ball back and scored it basically assured a loss for us.

Thanks again Smitty.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

If I remember correctly, UF was down by 14 and they scored a TD. Now down by 8, extra point pending. Why go for two? If you miss it you’re down by 8 and you’re forced to go for two if you score another touchdown, with a tie/loss on the line instead of a win. Seems like you go for the point there and then play on for the next touchdown if you prefer. I’m just not so sure why he felt that he had to get so creative and out-of-the-box at that juncture.

Any of you have a better explanation for me other than Mulln being Mullen?

The "logic" itself was not wrong.
The application of it was terrible.

 

[Lassr4Bama]

The decision to go for 2 was solid. The decision to burn the time out was rookie head coach stupid

This. Exactly what I said last night. It was stupid to go for two IF you had to burn a timeout to get it right. If you are going for two then have everything ready to go. With 1 timeout, 3 runs was going to leave no time on the clock and have Florida around the 20 yard line and 80 yards to go. That is why we did not pass on 3rd down. 20 seconds and 80 yards to go is better than 1 minutes and 80 yards to go.

 

[TideEngineer08]

I would have been worried about overtime. I think Florida would have had the advantage.

Florida’s defense was gassed completely

 

[B1GTide]

Florida’s defense was gassed completely

I agree - Alabama wins in OT 9 times out of 10. Mullen knew that, which is why he wanted to win in regulation.

 

[CoachJeff]

It was a good decision.

 

[TitleWave]

It was a good decision.

...’cause the wearing out defensively wasn’t one-sided - and when you’re going against LBs planted three yards deep in the end zone for making tackles, why not?

 

[selmaborntidefan]

Mullen's logic when he went for two sorta worked like this......"I'm going to play for the win in regulation because I honestly don't think we'll hold up in an overtime. So if I try for the conversion FIRST AND MISS IT, we are still only 8 down and can (worst case) tie it. It's still a one possession game. But if I decide to go for the win later, it will add do or die pressure to my kids with all it being on this one play."

Mullen's desire was defensible. His BIGGEST mistake is that he didn't make that decision earlier in the fourth quarter, he made it on the fly late - and wound up having to burn his timeout, which was his undoing.

 

[Probius]

Mullen was probably trying to fire his team up for the last minute of the game. If they know they can win with a TD, they are going to be more motivated.

 

[bamacpa]

Needing a timeout to get that play off killed his chances.