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Why did UM kick last FG?

statler & waldorf said:
I listened to the Mick/Sundberg show throughout the game, and can relay their thoughts. At that point, it was take the three points, as they'd have to make NDSU three and out(trust the D)and use his offense, and the clock, to WIN the game. Like the decision or not, it worked. Consistent with going for it on fourth down, which we saw all afternoon. The man has balls, and has convinced me, and lit a fire under a long suffering fan base.
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And had Gurns been on the radio, he would not have been saying that.
 
I don't know if taking the FG was the right decision or not (I was shaking my head at the time too, to be honest). But I don't think it's right to say that the FG got us "nothing," either.

Either way, the defense needed a stop, and the offense needed a TD - that's true. But with the FG, the TD wins the game. Without the FG, we either need a two-point conversion (which is never a given), or we need a one-point conversion and an OT win (also not a given).

So while I might agree with those who would've gone for the TD, I don't agree that the FG was "worthless." I think it was a defensible decision.
 
PlayerRep said:
I thought UM should have gone for the TD on 4th and 4 (or 5) with about 2.5 minutes to go and down 7. After the FG, UM would have been and was down 4 points, thus needing a TD to win. Even if UM didn't get the TD, NDSU would have gotten the ball inside their 10 (there's no rule to bring the ball to the 20 after a pass into the end zone, is there?). There was risk of missing the FG, and then ball would have come out to the 20. There was significant risk that the D wouldn't force a punt after 3 plays and with enough time to drive for the TD.

Well, it worked out great, and I guess we didn't have to go for 2 for the win. Maybe Stitt knew the D would hold immediately and the O would drive 80 in 16 plays in 1:37 for the win.
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Thought the same thing, that's why we are in the stands and not the sidelines. We better get used to it coach says.
 
PlayerRep said:
Grisly Fan said:
PlayerRep said:
Grisly Fan said:
There is probably a bit of the idea that defense wins championships (games also). Your defense has to hold to win nearly anyway you slice it. You put the game in their hands and roll the dice. Fortunately we have a coach willing to play for the win plus one who can coach. Despite all of the handwringing, the Griz were ready in all facets of their game. Stitt - and staff of course - deserve tons of credit.
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Yes, agreed on the D. However, why not try to score a TD from the 5/4 and either go for 2 or not go for 2. Then, the D would be able to do its thing. Taking the FG didn't help the defense. What it did was eliminate a chance of scoring a TD from the 5/4 and put more pressure on the offense to come down the field to score a TD and not a FG.
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Don't necessarily disagree but winners write the history books. We can play "what if" all day based on any decision he made as a coach. As it turned out he made the right decision.
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No, he didn't make the right decision. We just won the game. The right decision would have been to go for a TD. A FG did us no good. A TD ties the game, or allows us to go for 2 for the win. A FG put us in the same position as not making the TD would have. We still needed a TD to win. The D had to hold and the O had to come down the field for a TD whether we missed the TD or made the FG.
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They needed more then a touchdown to win, kicking a feildgoal there conserves more time on the clock! It's obvious you've never coached the game before! Brilliant move to give your team a chance to go down and win on final drive. What if we don't get the fourth down when down seven, what if we don't make FG, what if our defense doesn't stop NDSU on there final series ? Great call by STITT ?
 
Hey PR your way doesn't have to be the "right way." I think he did the right thing so do a bunch of others, it's ok to agree to disagree. You're not changing anyone's mind here.
 
Jack, give it a rest. Your conventional thinking was probably right on as to what most coaches would have done. What we learned yesterday is that coach Stitt is NOT a conventional thinker and he WON the game. Second guessing a win is counter productive. Showing extreme confidence in his players will go a long way as this season progresses.
 
PR, do you also disagree with going for it on 4th down six times? And the hook and ladder at the end of the first half? And not kicking an on side kick after the field goal? And basically, all of Coach Stitt's play calling?
A win is a win-to be cliché-and at the end of the year,it will be a win over the 4-time national champions, and this play will be forgotten-as other play calling by Stitt, will pop up to be scrutinized by the e-Griz faithful, who could call a game much better than he does.
 
TouchdownMontana said:
I also agree with player rep. The field goal did us no good. W
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Ok we score the touchdown and then go for the 2, if we miss the two (which I am certain we would have gone for) we still need the stop. After the kickoff where would they have the ball, the 35-40 where every return went to. Now they run the ball and quite possible run out the clock. Ok we make the stop deep in our territory with little time. Now we are possibly looking at making a looooong FG. I think it was a gutsy call to do it the other way but it worked and we are very happy.
 
I disagreed at the time with that call as well, but this is from Stitt's own mouth:

http://missoulian.com/sports/colleg...cle_e0a72eab-dd90-5ba0-806e-3c7e287b169d.html

With time winding down in the fourth quarter and the Griz trailing by a touchdown, Stitt elected to kick a field goal after the Griz had driven to the NDSU 2, drawing his team within 35-31 with 2:47 to play. That's putting a lot of pressure on your defense to get the ball back.

"We had three timeouts and our defense was playing well in the second half," Stitt said, taking the pulpit. "Again, you have to give yourself a chance to win it. That gave us a chance. You have to have faith. If you don't have faith, you're never going to win games like this, you're never going to have comebacks like this."

And if the Griz had been able to punch it in then to tie the game instead of kicking the field goal? Is there any doubt what Stitt would have called for the conversion try?

"Yeah, we already talked about it," Stitt said. "We were going to win it right there. There's no overtime. One play to beat the national champion, you're going to do it."

He is unconventional and a gambler (going for it on 4th down with bad field position multiple times, going for 2 in the first half when no coach would do that so early, running the hook and ladder play before the end of the half in bad field position -- which, by the way, would have likely been an easy touchdown were the pitch completed, and he would have gone for 2 to win if they had scored a touchdown instead of that last field goal. He is brilliant and I am so glad he is our coach!
 
dupuyer griz said:
Hey PR your way doesn't have to be the "right way." I think he did the right thing so do a bunch of others, it's ok to agree to disagree. You're not changing anyone's mind here.
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Right? PR is trying way to hard here.. Give it a rest.
 
argh! said:
that field goal provided the points to win the game. also, to get no points out of the situation would have deflated momentum, and football is, they tell me, a game of momentum.
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This. If the Griz had not scored on that drive momentum would have shifted.
 
The FG was easier to convert then a 2-pt conversion would have been.

at that point in the game it was all about prolonging it--kind of like free throws at the end of a tight b-ball game.

Going for it on 4th and goal from the 11 is super hard to convert--much harder than the 4th down Carlson converted in the middle of the field
 
http://missoulian.com/sports/colleg...cle_e0a72eab-dd90-5ba0-806e-3c7e287b169d.html

With time winding down in the fourth quarter and the Griz trailing by a touchdown, Stitt elected to kick a field goal after the Griz had driven to the NDSU 2, drawing his team within 35-31 with 2:47 to play. That's putting a lot of pressure on your defense to get the ball back.

"We had three timeouts and our defense was playing well in the second half," Stitt said, taking the pulpit. "Again, you have to give yourself a chance to win it. That gave us a chance. You have to have faith. If you don't have faith, you're never going to win games like this, you're never going to have comebacks like this."

And if the Griz had been able to punch it in then to tie the game instead of kicking the field goal? Is there any doubt what Stitt would have called for the conversion try?

"Yeah, we already talked about it," Stitt said. "We were going to win it right there. There's no overtime. One play to beat the national champion, you're going to do it."
 
Not too hard to figure, PR... Stitt still had 2:43 of game left and all three of his timeouts, plus after a sloppy first half of defense giving up 28 points Gregoriak noted in post game that the tackling had improved greatly.
All it was going to take was one three and out and the Griz got it. Plus the vertical passing game wasn't going to need a lot of time to score.
 
Player,
You asked for the logic behind the choice, and I explained it to you. I am not sure why you think the odds of scoring on 4th down from the 11 are so high, but they simply are really low. By kicking the fg, we keep the momentum and then win the game with a subsequent td (which is what happened). Momentum is a huge part of sports. Stitt made the right choice. If you want to argue about sometHing, talk about the 4th down decisions in the first half or the botched trick play.
 
dirtysoup said:
It showed how much trust he has in Gregorak and the defense. That will go a long way for the rest of the season.
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Exactly!! Defense wins championships! Stitt put the game in Ty's hands. And the D delivered. From a pure leadership perspective, Stitt made the decision to gain trust in his players. Think about this, he didn't hesitate...he made the call and Ty was saying "Oh Stitt!" "I have to stop the #1 offense in FCS with 2 minutes left on the clock." Coach Stitt just made a believer out the entire team and coaches because he put his faith in Ty's D. As the season goes on...you are exactly right...this call will go a long way to giving confidence to a team that nobody saw contending for a national title this year!!
 
PlayerRep said:
UM gained nothing by taking the FG.
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How much did we win by?

I have to agree with the posters who say that he trusted Gregorak's D to stop them giving us a chance to win. The D played great in the 2nd half.
 
catsack said:
They needed more then a touchdown to win, kicking a feildgoal there conserves more time on the clock! It's obvious you've never coached the game before! Brilliant move to give your team a chance to go down and win on final drive. What if we don't get the fourth down when down seven, what if we don't make FG, what if our defense doesn't stop NDSU on there final series ? Great call by STITT ?
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No, kicking a FG actually takes more time off clock, because time runs off the clock on the ensuing kickoff too. Yes, they needed a kickoff to win. Why not take 2 chances at a TD, and not just 1, especially when the first attempt is one shot from the 11 and next one depends on driving 80 yards in 1:39?
 
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