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Impactful Coaching Moves: The best and worst decisions of Week 10
By Ethan Levine
Published:
Here are the best and worst coaching decisions from around the SEC in Week 10:
GOOD MOVE
With their season and their head coach’s job on the line, the Florida Gators took a big risk in the first half of their upset of Georgia in Jacksonville on Saturday.
Trailing 7-0, the Gators drove 57 yards on 13 plays on their first drive of the second quarter, but stalled at the Georgia 21 yard line. The Gators lined up for a field goal, but Will Muschamp and the UF coaching staff made the gutsy decision to turn down easy points off the foot of consistent kicker Francisco Velez in favor of a fake.
Holder Michael McNeely received the snap and immediately hopped up and began running toward the end zone. Florida set up its blockers up perfectly, and McNeely navigated his way into the end zone for the game-tying touchdown. The play inspired Florida’s resurgent performance and clearly shook a Georgia team brimming with confidence before the fake.
By game’s end, Florida scored 38 points (the most it’s scored in an SEC game this season) and won by 18 to end Georgia’s chances at reaching the four-team playoff. Even if Muschamp is fired at the end of the season, he has a signature win to lean on, inspired by McNeely’s unexpected touchdown in the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.
BAD MOVE
Texas A&M barely hung on to a 21-16 victory over Louisiana-Monroe in College Station on Saturday, and offensive coordinator Jake Spavital’s play calling late in the game nearly allowed the Warhawks to complete the stunning upset.
Leading by five, Texas A&M had run the ball on eight straight plays to open up a late fourth quarter drive. The Aggies appeared destined to run out the clock on a much-needed victory, but with less than 2:30 remaining in the game, A&M inexplicably passed the ball on back to back plays. Both passes fell incomplete, preserving plenty of time for a ULM team clinging to just one timeout. A&M ran the ball on third down, and ULM called its timeout to force an Aggies punt with two minutes remaining.
The Warhawks couldn’t get into the end zone on their final drive, but they wouldn’t have even had a final drive if Spavital had stuck with a productive rushing attack in the final minutes of action.
GOOD MOVE
It took him more than half the season, but Vanderbilt head coach Derek Mason finally made a decision on his starting quarterback, and it’s already begun paying dividends for the Commodores.
Mason gave Johnny McCrary his first career start in a Week 9 loss to Missouri, but McCrary and the Vandy offense looked impressive on the road against the current SEC East leader. McCrary started again in Week 10 against Old Dominion, one of the FBS’ newest teams, but with Patton Robinette returning from injury it appeared there was a chance both quarterbacks would play against the Monarchs. Mason hasn’t hesitated to rotate quarterbacks within a game this season, and his offense has appeared inconsistent as a result.
This time, however, he stuck exclusively with McCrary, who completed 20 of 29 passes for 281 yards and five touchdowns without an interception. Old Dominion is far from Vandy’s toughest opponent, but Mason’s decision to stick with one quarterback allowed Vanderbilt to post its best numbers on offense this season. The Commodores are still a work in progress, but if Mason allows his young core to develop together, the future could come sooner than expected.
BAD MOVE
South Carolina blew its third two-touchdown fourth quarter lead of the season in Saturday’s home loss to Tennessee, and Steve Spurrier’s play calling in overtime was the final nail in the coffin.
The Gamecocks ran for 248 yards at more than six yards per carry in regulation, including 124 yards in the fourth quarter alone. However, trailing by three on their first overtime possession, the Gamecocks called three straight pass plays, all of which ended in disastrous fashion. The Volunteers recorded three straight sacks of Dylan Thompson, moving South Carolina well outside of field goal range as it faced a fourth and 25 from its own 40.
Spurrier cost his team by abandoning the run in overtime, but his worst decision came on fourth down when he elected to try a 58-yard field goal rather than try and convert the fourth and 25. Elliott Fry, who had made 12 straight field goals entering Saturday’s action, had no chance at converting the kick on a cold, windy night in Columbia, as his boot barely got 10 feet off the ground and barely reached the goal line. (It should be noted Fry’s career long is 45 yards.)
The offense did score 42 points on the night, so it is tough to pin the loss on that unit, but Spurrier’s play calling in overtime cost South Carolina a chance at a much-needed home victory in conference play.
A former newspaper reporter who has roamed the southeastern United States for years covering football and eating way too many barbecue ribs, if there is such a thing.
