Impactful Coaching Moves: The best and worst decisions of Week 8

Although there weren’t many competitive games around the SEC in Week 8, there were still plenty of interesting coaching decisions worth taking another look at. Some coaches made brilliant decisions that carried their teams to lopsided wins; others made questionable calls that might have cost their teams in blowout losses.

Here are the best and worst coaching decisions from around the SEC in Week 8:

GOOD MOVE

Georgia head coach Mark Richt and offensive coordinator Mike Bobo were wise to continue feeding the ball to Nick Chubb as often as possible, giving Chubb 30 carries in a 45-32 win over Arkansas. It seems elementary to give the ball to your best offensive weapon in a competitive conference showdown, but there were plenty of reasons for Georgia to shy away from the run against a physical Arkansas defense. Chubb is a freshman still gaining experience in the SEC, and he was no longer a secret to the conference in Week 8 after a huge performance in a Week 7 win over Mizzou. He also carried the ball 38 times against Missouri, and the Georgia coaches could have elected to reduce his workload to preserve him for the long haul, even though the Bulldogs are out of productive backs behind Chubb on the depth chart. Lastly, Arkansas boasts a more consistent run defense (No. 7 in the SEC) than pass defense (No. 11), and Richt and Bobo could have seen a matchup with the Razorbacks as a chance for quarterback Hutson Mason to gain some confidence moving forward. Instead, Richt and Bobo kept level heads and chose to stick with what was working, which can be easier said than done. It wasn’t a stroke of genius, but it was savvy coaching by two of the longest tenured coaches in the conference.

BAD MOVE

The Tennessee coaching staff killed its offense’s best drive of the game with a poorly timed double-reverse in a 34-3 loss to Ole Miss Saturday night. Tennessee had driven seven plays and moved the ball inside the Ole Miss 30 yard line on its first possession of the second half, and the Vols appeared likely to cap the drive with at least three points to cut into the Rebels’ 14-3 advantage at the time. However, offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian elected to abandon what had been working for Tennessee on the drive (runs and quick throws), and called the double-reverse in hopes of catching the Rebels off-guard. Ole Miss was prepared for the trick play, and the Vols ended up losing more than 10 yards on the play, moving them out of field goal range and effectively killing the drive. In a two-score game, Tennessee should have stuck with what was working and settled for three points if need be. After all, at 14-6 Tennessee would have been one bad Bo Wallace turnover away from tying the game without having to beat the nasty Ole Miss defense. Instead, the failed double-reverse cost Tennessee a chance at points on the drive, and the Vols never threatened with another scoring drive the rest of the night as Ole Miss pulled away and never looked back.

GOOD MOVE

It wasn’t one single impactful decision, but Nick Saban and Lane Kiffin were smart to maintain a balanced attack against an overmatched Texas A&M defense in Saturday’s 59-0 win. Kiffin got tailback T.J. Yeldon 16 touches, fellow tailback Derrick Henry 11 touches and wideout Amari Cooper eight touchdowns in the convincing victory in Tuscaloosa. Alabama ran the ball 45 times and threw the ball 35 times, allowing all three skill players to remain involved and regain confidence after back to back dismal performances against Ole Miss and Arkansas. Yeldon and Henry combined to rush for 184 yards, and Cooper amassed 140 yards through the air in the win. All three appear to be back on track as Alabama prepares for a difficult final stretch of the regular season, hoping to crack the four-team field for the inaugural College Football Playoff.

BAD MOVE

The Arkansas Razorbacks have one of the best rushing attacks in the nation, but for some reason the Razorbacks coaching staff elected to abandon the run in a one-point game early in Saturday’s showdown with Georgia in Little Rock. The Razorbacks marched 75 yards on 13 plays to score a touchdown on their opening drive, and they attempted only one pass on that scoring drive. Arkansas missed the extra point and Georgia countered with a touchdown on its first possession, giving the Bulldogs a 7-6 first quarter lead. Arkansas was given great field position on its second possession after Georgia failed to execute a surprise onside kick, but the Razorbacks wasted the field position by electing to throw the ball on the first two plays of the drive. Arkansas quarterback Brandon Allen was sacked on both plays, eventually leading to a Razorbacks punt. Georgia went on to score 38 points for the half, while Arkansas didn’t score again until the third quarter, at which point it was too late to mount a comeback. Considering how well Arkansas has run the ball this season, it appears the Razorbacks made a mistake by abandoning the run early in a tight game against a top 10 team.

Ethan Levine

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.