Of all our mistakes...

[edr247]

There are plenty of threads on here, where we rant about the special teams play, the coaches, the missed penalties on Wisconsin/penalties on us...

But I'm not sure one is getting enough attention. And that was settling for the field goal vs scoring the TD after Wisconsin practically gifted us the game on the interception.

We got the ball inside the 30, if I remember correctly, but quickly went three-and-out. We took the field-goal, which to be honest, was probably as risky as going for it on 4th down, considering the miscues on XPs and FGs we had already had. Fortunately, I suppose, we made the kick, and extended the lead to 6. (But of course, that's where the missed XP from before came back to haunt us)

My issue isn't necessarily with not going on 4th down vs kicking, but rather why it seemed like we weren't going for the throat on the first 3 downs. We seemed to come out with conservative plays on 1st and 2nd, leaving a somewhat obvious 3rd and not short. I truly believe that if we had scored a TD there, we would have won the game. Had the XP gone through following that, we would have been up 10 points, and I just don't know if, barring a miracle, Wisconsin would have been able to pull that off.

What do you guys think? Would it have been a mistake to throw it to DJK or McNutt in the endzone on 1st or 2nd down? Would it have been a mistake to go for it on 4th down if we had failed to pick up the 1st?

 

[KnightHawk9]

I kind of agree. I remember at the time thinking it was really important to try to get a touchdown to put the game out of reach. Don't forget, we did run a screen pass to ARob, which has usually been a big play for us (remember the big 1st down against MI?). We also threw to try for a 1st on third. So it's not like we ran it up the middle 3 times.

Additionally, remember that they attempted a 67 yard field goal in this game. If they truly believe their guy can make it from beyond 60 yards, then it becomes crucial to extend the lead beyond 3 points.

 

[HawkDad]

edr247...

+1

You nailed it!

 

[knighthawk13]

Call time out. Tell your guys to make sure they don't allow a fake punt to go for a first down. Game over.

 

[tdhawkeye]

I'm with you knighthawk, the fake punt is where I think we lost that game. We haven't returned a punt this year, barely have had any that aren't fair caught, so why worry about a return. Hold them up and make sure its punted.

 

[Elwood]

Yes, two special teams plays away from being undefeated. It's that simple.

 

[bws258]

Call time out. Tell your guys to make sure they don't allow a fake punt to go for a first down. Game over.

BINGO!
we have a winner

 

[jameskalina]

Call time out. Tell your guys to make sure they don't allow a fake punt to go for a first down. Game over.

The fake punt was the killer. I saw it coming as did a lot of other folks. It's unbelievable to me why the coaching staff called for a return when a fair catch would have been quite acceptable.

I have to say this loss is on the coaching staff.

 

[edr247]

I know the fake punt hurt, and was just one of the mistakes. But again, I'm focusing on the gift that Wisconsin did give us, yet we failed to capitalize. Had we scored the TD and gone up by 10, whether Wisconsin got the fake punt on the next drive would have been a moot point, IMO.

 

[tdhawkeye]

But we got points off of the turnover so its not a total failure. Going up by 6 and handing the game over to our defense is what we do. Giving up a fake punt on 4th and long around the 25 yard line hurts worse than not coming away with a TD. I think it also gave Wisconsin the momentum shift.

 

[edr247]

But we got points off of the turnover so its not a total failure. Going up by 6 and handing the game over to our defense is what we do. Giving up a fake punt on 4th and long around the 25 yard line hurts worse than not coming away with a TD. I think it also gave Wisconsin the momentum shift.

It was a 4th and 4, not a 4th and a mile or anything. Seemed like it because the punter got the ball from further back.

Also, going up by 6 and handing the game over to our defense may be what we do. But don't you think it's about time Iowa got that 'killer' mentality?

 

[kuhntz]

I would have preferred to see 4 shots at the endzone from the 26 yard line than settling for a field goal in that situation. By extending the lead from 3 to 6 we only forced Wisconsin to be in an all or nothing mode. I would rather see them trying to kick a game tying field goal from 45 yards instead of working towards a game winning TD. We didn't even take a shot at the endzone and that was disappointing, but many other plays were still on the table to win the game...plays and coaching calls that should have been made.