Coaching Loss

[razorhog52]

If you're blaming Coach BB for this loss, all those amazing wins are to his credit also.

You are right. He gets credit for all 6 of those amazing SEC wins over the past three years and all 17 of his SEC losses. I want this guy to succeed but this was tough.

I don't make the big bucks like he does and I get the benefit of hindsight, but I'd rather be up by 5 or 7 with 40 seconds with my opponent having one TO than being up 2 with 49 seconds and my opponent having no TO.

[XavierZane]

CBB took a huge risk going to the endzone on 4th and 1. When we marched down the field to their 13 yard line we decide to go conservative. It makes no sense. It is like hitting on 17 when you are up $1000 then when you are down to $5 staying on 13. It makes no sense.

Yeah. I've said it before.  I like CBB and am happy he's here for awhile, but his major flaw as a coach is a problem with timing and decisions.  Like, he's dyslexic when it comes to coaching decisions sometimes.  The blackjack analogy you have here is spot on.  He pushes too hard at exactly the wrong time, then he compounds it by, as soon as possible, playing it way too safe at exactly the wrong time.  Or vise versa.

Another example from this game:  calling a timeout on 3rd and 5 with about three minutes left.  Our defense had just forced their first third down of the drive (and first third and medium of the quarter), but the timeout took away what little rhythm they had.  He was trying to give his defense the opportunity to focus, but he actually gave Dak a chance to regroup after his only sign of weakness that drive.  He scored on the next play after the timeout.

This came back to doubly impact the game, because that timeout would have come in useful at the end of the game.

[WorfHog]

This. Not the kickers fault and not bad offensive coaching. 99% of coaches would have done the same. Both pro and college. Our D and only our D lost this game.

Yep which is why 90%+ of coaches get fired. Gutless call by CBB. BA should have audibled out of at least one of those runs.

[presidenthog]

Bielema really wasted that timeout when MSU was about to score.  It wouldn't have changed the game but it could have.  And in close games, that matters, every roll of the dice matters.

Points matter, too.  Go for 7 and if you have to take 3, you take the 3.  You don't set it up to just go for the 3.

Great job by Allen and the receivers and TEs.

You know I'll say that I have noticed that CBB is not a guy who goes out of his way to save his time outs. if he doesn't like something he will use one. that isn't so bad in the first half, but with tonight's like tonight when you know it's going to come down to the last possession I think you save those so you know you can stop the clock enough to give you one last chance. they was going to score when he used that time out and him using it wasn't going to stop it. he should have just let them score and just start planning on an answer. that's all hindsight but either way I know he is not afraid to use his timeouts.

[coolhog]

The coaching decision to shut down the offense and run 3 up the middle and totally rely on the fg cost us the game.

[RazrBakr]

4th down and a foot to go, we throw 30+ to the back of the end zone. Turn over on downs and MSU gets their 1st TD of the second half.  THAT was the bone head call that open the flood gates!  It was coaching that cost the game!  Going for the field goal was just a bonus in the stupidity round!

[redeye]

Brandon Allen throws 7 TD passes and you run 3 times there?  This is 100% a coaching loss.

It's not 100% on the coaches.  We played a very good game, against a very good team.  The loss was due to a couple of poor decisions on offense and a struggling defense that didn't match up well with MSU's offense.

It was a game that could have gone either way.  I'm not happy with the result, but some of you are making a mountain out of a mole hill with it.  We barely beat Auburn and Ole Miss, but barely lost to Toledo and MSU.  It's all evened out.

[Dugann]

Yes imo. The 4th and 1 was the down fall

[Hollywood_HOGan45]

This is 115 percent on the cosches. Our decisions tonight were a complete joke.

[Pigsknuckles]

Or maybe put a hand on the guy who blocked the kick?

Grovy said Hedlund hit him right between the numbers. Another line drive attempt. A safety could have blocked it.

[Hog Pharm]

4th down and a foot to go, we throw 30+ to the back of the end zone. Turn over on downs and MSU gets their 1st TD of the second half.  THAT was the bone head call that open the flood gates!  It was coaching that cost the game!  Going for the field goal was just a bonus in the stupidity round!

And yet if it was completed it would have been a great call. That's just how it goes. Plus the initial read was Sprinkle in the flat but it was covered. Good job by their defense.

[FreshHog]

agreed. i blame the coaches, not the kids

I blame the kicker... but I blame Smith and the Defensive players more. Every week I see players on defense in position to make plays... and they dont. Its not all on Smith, and its not all on the players.

[FreshHog]

Another idiot coaching the hogs.

So what's new?

Since Hatfield all we have had are idiots.

Lol, yeah clearly an idiot. God forbid he go for a winning FG and trying to limit MSST to 40 seconds of time to run down and get a FG to win... the kicker apparently sucks, he hit a 45 yarder 2 weeks ago? Now he cant hit an extended extra point. You're dumber than the kickers leg is weak. 

[Augustus]

The defense is not great by no means but how can you say they lost the game for us is crazy. They got us 2 turnovers and a 3 and out in the second half. A poor decision on fourth and 1 and that conservative crap at the end cost us the game.

Yes, the defense came up big time in the 3rd quarter, and got us back into the game (that they let slip away in the 1st half)

But, other than the 3rd quarter? The defense was atrocious.

[HogWall Jackson]

That's all on CBB. Absolutely pathetic game management. Just dumb

Absolutely, the 4th and 1 call Pass incomplete to Henry in the End Zone was a terrible Call. On our Final Drive the coaches were playing for the FG, I had 2 Problems with that strategy: 1st the was State was moving the ball we were leaving enough time on the clock for State, 2nd or Kicker just gives me anything but confidence when I see him on the field. The 3rd and 5 call was simply all the way playing for the FG. I was thinking a pass to the TE for the 1st Down.

These 2 offensive series beat us because we never stopped Prescott and State. Playing for Shoot Out Victories will always be a Hazard that will keep you from becoming a good Football Team.

We belong in the Indy Bowl. Our Tackling stunk again.

[HogimusMaximus]

Coaches looked lost.

[Shrevepork]

Why in the world do you not attempt a TD pass at least once or twice there ?  Come on !

I believe Coach Darrell Royal said something like:"Three things can happen when you throw a pass and two of them aren't good."

[Shrevepork]

It's not 100% on the coaches.  We played a very good game, against a very good team.  The loss was due to a couple of poor decisions on offense and a struggling defense that didn't match up well with MSU's offense.

It was a game that could have gone either way.  I'm not happy with the result, but some of you are making a mountain out of a mole hill with it.  We barely beat Auburn and Ole Miss, but barely lost to Toledo and MSU.  It's all evened out.

Right on. Granted, we're very weak in pass defense, but MSU was a good team. They were big and FAST. Disappointed? You bet, but it didn't go our way this time and that's football in the SEC.

[wupigsuey]

Lol, yeah clearly an idiot. God forbid he go for a winning FG and trying to limit MSST to 40 seconds of time to run down and get a FG to win... the kicker apparently sucks, he hit a 45 yarder 2 weeks ago? Now he cant hit an extended extra point. You're dumber than the kickers leg is weak. 

Glad someone can see the big picture here.

We should be able to execute a 21 yard FG 99% of the time. If you go for the TD there, you leave MS St more than enough time to get down field. Especially with all their timeouts. We hadn't even slowed them down all night, let alone stopped them. You make them burn their timeouts, get the lead with the FG, and hope your D can hold them for 30 seconds. It was the right call. Just didn't work out this time.

[Kevin]

40 seconds left vs our d. Dak had plenty of time to get a game winning fg

[hog911]

Playing not to lose

Yep

[Peter Porker]

Playing not to lose

What does this even mean?

We forced them to use their timeouts.
We ran down the clock.
We sent out a play that would win the game.

Sounds like we played to win.


These cliches fans throw out are so dumb. I saw a lot of women tweeting that out on twitter last night.

[Peter Porker]

Why in the world do you not attempt a TD pass at least once or twice there ?  Come on !

So when Brandon throws a pick you can say, "Brandon just ain't clutch"?

[ricepig]

What does this even mean?

We forced them to use their timeouts.
We ran down the clock.
We sent out a play that would win the game.

Sounds like we played to win.


These cliches fans throw out are so dumb. I saw a lot of women tweeting that out on twitter last night.

Unfortunately, that's because their husbands who post it on HV told them so....

[Kevin]

So when Brandon throws a pick you can say, "Brandon just ain't clutch"?

Ba has proved the last half of the season he is clutch. Rather have the game in his hands than on our kickers foot

[TheTick077]

Absolutely, the 4th and 1 call Pass incomplete to Henry in the End Zone was a terrible Call. On our Final Drive the coaches were playing for the FG, I had 2 Problems with that strategy: 1st the was State was moving the ball we were leaving enough time on the clock for State, 2nd or Kicker just gives me anything but confidence when I see him on the field. The 3rd and 5 call was simply all the way playing for the FG. I was thinking a pass to the TE for the 1st Down.

These 2 offensive series beat us because we never stopped Prescott and State. Playing for Shoot Out Victories will always be a Hazard that will keep you from becoming a good Football Team.

We belong in the Indy Bowl. Our Tackling stunk again.

Did you think the 4th down throw to Joe Adams vs LSU a few years back was a bad call? I understand the desire to just get the 1 yard, but sometimes things work - this time it didn't. Playing to win the game on a chip shot field goal was the right call. If we had left them win a minute plus a couple time outs, do you honestly think our D could have kept them out of the end zone?

[buldozer]

Why in the world do you not attempt a TD pass at least once or twice there ?  Come on !

Because you coach the field goal unit......

[longpig]

Another idiot coaching the hogs.

So what's new?

Since Hatfield all we have had are idiots.

Next time you feel like name calling, how about drinking a cup of bleach instead.

[ricepig]

Next time you feel like name calling, how about drinking a cup of bleach instead.

He's good at that, but it's usually directed to DVH.

[longpig]

Coaches looked lost.

on both sidelines occasionally

[HoopS]

I am reading some say our D lost it...and they played poorly.

So knowing that, the way we played it guaranteed two things

1. Our kicker would have to make a pressure-packed kick
2. Then our D would have to keep them from getting into FG range with time left for them to work the sidelines

Our strategy took away their TO's, put our kicker under pressure, guaranteed they'd get a shot against our D, and took the ball out of Allen's hands who had just led them straight down the field.

I didn't say have BA throw the ball 4 times to the end zone or not attempt a FG if we didn't get one more first down. But just imagine for a moment a play action on second or third down with them crowding the box once it became clear we had no intention of going for a TD.

I love coach B.  I don't want him fired.  But good grief if he really weighed the options and this is what he feels is best, then I have doubts about our late game management going forward.

You can say that "all coaches would have done the same thing" and I'd call bs. Not once they did the math on how much time would be left, considered we struggle with FG's all year, and realize we couldn't stop their offense and this meant they'd only have to get into FG range. I know that you can claim he played it by the book and generally I would agree. But to me, and this was as it was going on, it just felt riskier playing it as we did rather than playing our hot hand.

[hogcard1964]

40 seconds left vs our d. Dak had plenty of time to get a game winning fg

Yes, and he would have.

[Jeff "hogfanintx" Anderson]

Defense was exposed all night.  That said you have to try and get 6 that last drive.  Nothing to indicate we could have kept them out of field goal range after a make.

[buldozer]

There are problems with these coaches no doubt about that..... can't watch that game and not figure that out

[ricepig]

Defense was exposed all night.  That said you have to try and get 6 that last drive.  Nothing to indicate we could have kept them out of field goal range after a make.

Did they score every drive? Nope, they didn't, and who knows we might have blocked their FG, lol.

[hogcard1964]

There are problems with these coaches no doubt about that..... can't watch that game and not figure that out

Smith has pressure on him now to correct this mess over the next month.  If Mizzou lights our D up, heads will roll after our bowl game.  That's a team we should blow out.

[wupigsuey]

Defense was exposed all night.  That said you have to try and get 6 that last drive.  Nothing to indicate we could have kept them out of field goal range after a make.

Thats the thing, do you get 6 and leave them a minute or get 3 and leave them 30 seconds?

[Mikey]

After watching that game, which was the Hogs best option:

Trust D to stop Dak with 40 sec left to get within field goal range or pray the D could keep Dak out of end zone somehow.

Trust our defense last night?  You've got to be kidding . . .

[Jeff "hogfanintx" Anderson]

Did they score every drive? Nope, they didn't, and who knows we might have blocked their FG, lol.

Might and could have and would have.

I saw a fumble we forced and recovered,  I saw an int that bounced off their receivers head, I saw a fumble recovery on a kickoff.

Sooooo if Miss ST gets ball back and doesn't turn it over I don't think our D would have stopped them. Dang sure didn't see many bulldog punts.  In fact they did punt one time.

[Jeff "hogfanintx" Anderson]

Thats the thing, do you get 6 and leave them a minute or get 3 and leave them 30 seconds?

Always tougher to score the TD.  I'm not saying I'm right, and who knows how it would have turned out, but I damn sure would have gone for the TD.

[westside_player]

The kick wasn't low. Watch the replay. The defender got 20 feet closer to the spot of the kick than the rest of the line of scrimmage. If anyone kicks a ball with someone that close to them it's getting blocked.

The strategy in the last 2 minutes wasn't bad. In fact it's what anyone else with a brain would have done.  Pass, and you have a chance of turning it over, getting a sack, or having to go for a 35-45 yard FG with more time left on the clock. Game over. Pass and score with 45 seconds left, and you have a chance of them getting the ball back and scoring again.  If your pushing forward in to an easy field goal positioning with the safe runs, that's what you do. That's your higher percent chance of winning. I don't care how many touchdowns Allen has thrown for the game. Everyone on both sides is in panic mode at the end, results can change.

[Capt. Hamm]

Brandon Allen throws 7 TD passes and you run 3 times there?  This is 100% a coaching loss.

Blame this loss on the defense. You don't score 50 at home and lose, unless your defense doesn't show up.

[stahawg]

You guys are pathetic. The last drive was well managed. The last 3 plays were about draining the clock and forcing them to use those timeouts. An incompletion stops the clock and allows them to hold on to atleast one timeout. Coach couldn't have known ahead of time the kick would get blocked. If we make it, they all look like great coaches. But those of you who want to criticize everything believe you are always right. It's very clear after the fact with anything in life. It's a hard loss to accept. No doubt. But this is the SEC and if you pay attention at all, disappointments happen with every team across the entire conference. Letdowns happen. Period. It's life and a game. Big picture is the heart of this team is unmatched by any of our teams in a long, long time!  When our defensive talent improves, the Championship is ours.  Let's accept what has happened, trusting and believing we are a much better team than we've been, and continue to get better. Support our players and coaching staff! My feeling is that Coach will have a very difficult time keeping this staff together this year. It's a very very strong group of coaches. We are on the verge of competing for the Championship. Go Hogs!

[Mikey]

Our strategy took away their TO's, put our kicker under pressure, guaranteed they'd get a shot against our D, and took the ball out of Allen's hands who had just led them straight down the field.

MSU was going to get the ball back with at least 40 seconds left no matter what.  Our decision to run was sound in that it forced them to use all their timeouts.  40 seconds with no timeouts versus 3 timeouts MIGHT have helped our defense stop them in time.

If our defense was worth a damn against spread offenses we likely use a different strategy.  What we did last night was driven by how bad our defense is, just like the decision to go for two in the first overtime of the Ole Miss game.

[yocdaddy]

Yes, our defense gave up 51 points at home, but we still win the game if we don't pull our own plug.  It's akin to someone going 15-18 from the floor with 35 points in basketball and the coach setting up a game winning play for someone off the bench who really hasn't proven himself.  It's a deplorable decision.  Brandon Allen had 7 TD's and our kicking game has been highly questionable all season.  I know it's the percentage play, but have a feel for the way things were unfolding.  We needed a touchdown with a minute left, not a FG with 40 seconds left. 

Look at the screen shot of BA after they block the kick.  His facial expression says it all.  I can't blame him.  The coaches will lose some of the players over that call. 

[hogcard1964]

Blame this loss on the defense. You don't score 50 at home and lose, unless your defense doesn't show up.

+1000

Well said.  But the last drive in crunch time was a mess.

[HoopS]

MSU was going to get the ball back with at least 40 seconds left no matter what.  Our decision to run was sound in that it forced them to use all their timeouts.  40 seconds with no timeouts versus 3 timeouts MIGHT have helped our defense stop them in time.

If our defense was worth a damn against spread offenses we likely use a different strategy.  What we did last night was driven by how bad our defense is, just like the decision to go for two in the first overtime of the Ole Miss game.

if we get a first down on third down, no they wouldn't have. They'd used two timeouts. We get a first down and then we have the option of running it right down to the last tick. Passing it also would have possibly allowed them to save a TO with an incompletion. Risk Reward. We played it safe and lost. Had we made the FG, our strategy guaranteed them time to try as well. There was only one way to score and drain their TO's and it was to go for the first down that last possession. Second or third down would have been prime time to play action. BA is savvy enough to throw it away if his target isn't wide open. If it doesn't work, then settle for the kick.

Doesn't matter. We played hard and I'm proud of the effort.

[buldozer]

4th down and a foot to go, we throw 30+ to the back of the end zone. Turn over on downs and MSU gets their 1st TD of the second half.  THAT was the bone head call that open the flood gates!  It was coaching that cost the game!  Going for the field goal was just a bonus in the stupidity round!

^^^This^^^

[MuskogeeHogFan]

+1000

Well said.  But the last drive in crunch time was a mess.

I'll disagree. That was by the book and the correct way to play that at the time. Who knew that we wouldn't execute a simple blocking scheme for a FG where everyone covers and seals off their inside gap?

Now if you are looking for a mess, go back to the play call on the 4th and 1 at the Miss State 26 with 5 minutes and change left in the 3rd Qtr. Should have just got the 1st down and continued the drive which likely have produced a TD (with the way our offense was working) putting us up 49-31. Add the 4th qtr TD and we have 56 points. MSU would have had to score 4 TD's in a quarter to win and even our porous defense didn't have enough time to allow that to happen.

[hobhog]

Defensive game plan only thing to blame. Late game management was playing by percentages. Kick easy FG and we win.

Or do we? I was not confident they wouldnt complete two long passes and kick the winner. Our pass D is that bad, and witnessed AU do it in 23 seconds.