I've seen some discussion about the play calling (and clock management) at the end of the second half, but I really took exception to the clock management at the end of the first half, which is something Mike Riley has complete control over.
Here's what happened:
2nd & 10 from the 23 yard line with 1:18 left to play in the half. Tanner Lee throws a quick pass to Tyjon Lindsey, which gets stopped immediately for a one yard loss and sets up a 3rd & 11. Mike Riley immediately calls a timeout. Why?
1. The chances of converting a 3rd & 11 are not great. It's certainly within the realm of possibility, but you need to at least consider not getting enough and having to attempt a FG.
2. If you cannot convert the first down, then you want to limit how much time your opponent has to drive the field. Arkansas State had two timeouts remaining as well.
3. If you do convert, you are going to be inside the 13 yard line. That means you realistically only need enough time to run 3-4 more plays. With one timeout still remaining, do you need over a minute?
Given this information, I think you definitely have to let the clock run after Lindsey gets blown up for a loss even if you wanted to take the timeout to regroup. They could have let the clock run under 50 seconds before calling the timeout and had things worked out still had plenty of time to run enough plays to have a legitimate shot at a touchdown. As it turned out, Mike Riley basically did our opponent a favor and preserved the clock for Arkansas State, who needed every last second to get into field goal range themselves.
Perhaps this sounds nitpicky, but NU simply isn't talented (or well coached enough) to give our opponent any freebies. Poor clock management can be the difference in wins and losses, especially this year when NU just doesn't have a lot of advantages to begin with.
Here's what happened:
2nd & 10 from the 23 yard line with 1:18 left to play in the half. Tanner Lee throws a quick pass to Tyjon Lindsey, which gets stopped immediately for a one yard loss and sets up a 3rd & 11. Mike Riley immediately calls a timeout. Why?
1. The chances of converting a 3rd & 11 are not great. It's certainly within the realm of possibility, but you need to at least consider not getting enough and having to attempt a FG.
2. If you cannot convert the first down, then you want to limit how much time your opponent has to drive the field. Arkansas State had two timeouts remaining as well.
3. If you do convert, you are going to be inside the 13 yard line. That means you realistically only need enough time to run 3-4 more plays. With one timeout still remaining, do you need over a minute?
Given this information, I think you definitely have to let the clock run after Lindsey gets blown up for a loss even if you wanted to take the timeout to regroup. They could have let the clock run under 50 seconds before calling the timeout and had things worked out still had plenty of time to run enough plays to have a legitimate shot at a touchdown. As it turned out, Mike Riley basically did our opponent a favor and preserved the clock for Arkansas State, who needed every last second to get into field goal range themselves.
Perhaps this sounds nitpicky, but NU simply isn't talented (or well coached enough) to give our opponent any freebies. Poor clock management can be the difference in wins and losses, especially this year when NU just doesn't have a lot of advantages to begin with.
