Clock Management 101

[Sultan__of__Swine]

I was really confused by Petrino's clock management decisions late in the 2nd quarter. The score was Clemson 16 - Louisville 7. The Cards got ball at the UL 25 with 4:06 left. Typically this is a really good amount of time to establish a drive that runs the clock down and hopefully put a 3 or 7 on the board.


The drive began with a Malik run:

• 1st and 10 at LOU 25
  (3:59 - 2nd) Malik Williams run for 14 yds to the Lvile 39 for a 1ST down

At this point you have some momentum, so go back to the run right?

• 1st and 10 at LOU 39
  (3:33 - 2nd) Lamar Jackson pass incomplete to Jaylen Smith

Nope incomplete pass and only 0:06 runs off clock.

• 2nd and 10 at LOU 39
  (3:30 - 2nd) Lamar Jackson pass incomplete to Traveon Samuel

Another opportunity for a run by Lamar or Malik? Nope another incomplete pass and 0:03 seconds off the clock.

• 3rd and 10 at LOU 39
  (3:25 - 2nd) Lamar Jackson pass incomplete to Dez Fitzpatrick

Okay, 3rd and 10, time for a draw? Nope, another incomplete pass and 0:05 seconds off clock.

• 4th and 10 at LOU 39
  (3:17 - 2nd) Mason King punt for 41 yds, fair catch by Hunter Renfrow at the Clem 20

Cards end up punting only burning off a total of 0:47 off the clock! Probably one of the worst clock management jobs I've seen under Petrino. This was the kind of crap we used to see under Charlie Strong.

As a result, Clemson got the ball at their 20 yard line and then drive to the Louisville 31 and get another 3-pts making it 19-7. Additionally Clemson had the ball after halftime too.

 

[glassmanJ]

who was our last coach where we didn't complain about clock management? schnelly?

 

[ciswilldean3215]

Defense was on the field way too much in the 1st half. They wore down quickly because of play calling like this. I get the guys who are upset with the defense, but with scenarios like the OP mentioned, how can anyone solely blame the defense? Most of the blame starts at the top.....

 

[Knucklehank1]

I am continually amazed how coaches paid millions of dollars mismanage the clock. I think there would actually be a lot of value in having a coach that sole focus in the game is on the clock and advising the head coach on end of half time strategy.

 

[CardsFirst]

Defense was on the field way too much in the 1st half. They wore down quickly because of play calling like this. I get the guys who are upset with the defense, but with scenarios like the OP mentioned, how can anyone solely blame the defense? Most of the blame starts at the top.....

Yep I'm one who isn't happy with the D mostly because of poor tackling and that secondary. But you guys have made excellent points. I just hope they can right the ship. We have two weeks to get things corrected.

 

[Rollem Cards]

We have two weeks to get things corrected.

Maybe I'm wrong, but haven't words to this effect been said every game since Houston?

We've been looking for "fixes" for 10 months now.

We'll learn nothing these next two. Hopefully some youngsters get a LOT of clock.

 

[Ipartiedwithhopgood]

Bottom line he's asking Lamar to do it all. UofL had a very stout squad last year leading up to the Houston game, with several contributors. Sat night was just a one man show, Petrino did not try to establish the RB. Really thought he figured it out in 2nd half vs UNC. Cards look like a machine when the RB is involved, a one trick pony when the RB is not.

 

[ciswilldean3215]

Agreed. How does Malik Williams have such a dynamic game against UNC and then only get 6 totes in the next game? And I love Reggie and all but Malik earned the first carry to start the game as well. I refuse to blame the defense(I do get it though, they have their issues too) because most of this all comes back on CBP.

Bottom line he's asking Lamar to do it all. UofL had a very stout squad last year leading up to the Houston game, with several contributors. Sat night was just a one man show, Petrino did not try to establish the RB. Really thought he figured it out in 2nd half vs UNC. Cards look like a machine when the RB is involved, a one trick pony when the RB is not.

 

[topdecktiger]

How does Malik Williams have such a dynamic game against UNC and then only get 6 totes in the next game?

You can't run the ball if the line isn't opening up holes. Some of this stuff is getting ridiculous. North Carolina has an awful defense. It's easy to feed a running back against a bad defense. When the opposing defense is stuffing the run, what the hell do you want the coaches to do?

 

[Sultan__of__Swine]

You can't run the ball if the line isn't opening up holes. Some of this stuff is getting ridiculous. North Carolina has an awful defense. It's easy to feed a running back against a bad defense. When the opposing defense is stuffing the run, what the hell do you want the coaches to do?

Malik Williams was averaging 5.8 yds per carry, so I would disagree. There were some opportunities to run the ball, Petrino just didn't call the plays.

 

[topdecktiger]

Malik Williams was averaging 5.8 yds per carry, so I would disagree. There were some opportunities to run the ball, Petrino just didn't call the plays.

You can disagree all you want. You're still wrong. This is again where you stat guys don't get it. You have to go by what happens on the field, not the stat sheet. You have really 3 plays on a series. (Since most of the time you have to punt on 4th down). You have to call plays BASED ON THE SITUATION IN THAT SERIES.

So let's say you do run the ball 1st down and you get stuffed. Now you've got 2nd and 10. You only have two plays left, or otherwise you have to punt. Now, you're behind the chains, and your opportunities to run are diminished. THAT CHANGES YOUR PLAYCALLING. That's why Petrino wasn't calling as many running plays. It's because Louisville was getting behind the chains so much. If Louisville was consistently picking up yardage, like against North Carolina, then yeah you can run it more. If you constantly find yourself in 2nd/3rd and long, you simply don't have an opportunity to get the running game going.

Plus, when you go keep going three and out, you simply don't have enough plays to get your running backs a lot of carries.

And then on top of that, when you get down by ~20 points, you have to abandon the running game anyway, because you simply don't have enough time to methodically drive down the field and score.

 

[Rollem Cards]

Coach, how do you have time to be on a message board?

Shouldn't you have practice, meetings, and such to get prepared for your next game?

There are real coaches out there who will counter everything you just said. Just like they argue back and forth on GD etc.

 

[topdecktiger]

Coach, how do you have time to be on a message board?

Shouldn't you have practice, meetings, and such to get prepared for your next game?

There are real coaches out there who will counter everything you just said. Just like they argue back and forth on GD etc.

Sorry, but what I said was spot on. Save me the "real coaches" crap. It's simple. You get behind the chains, you can't run the ball. You go 3 and out, you can't run the ball. The facts are the facts. Louisville couldn't run the ball because Clemson controlled the line of scrimmage. It's not that complicated. It's dumb to think that something that worked against North Carolina will work against Clemson.

 

[CardinalDave]

Count me among those who believe it was a major mistake to not go with running the ball more. Malik Williams had his number called 6 times and Bonnafon 4 times. That is a total of only 10 carries by the running backs for the entire game. If that is the extent to which our running backs will be used then every team should set their defenses to have a spy on Lamar each game. By not giving it to your running backs occasionally there is no reason for the defense to be concerned about them.
Either Bobby 2.0 is not the coach he once was or his many years of coaching have provided tendencies which a good defensive coordinator can take advantage of.

 

[Knucklehank1]

Sorry, but what I said was spot on. Save me the "real coaches" crap. It's simple. You get behind the chains, you can't run the ball. You go 3 and out, you can't run the ball. The facts are the facts. Louisville couldn't run the ball because Clemson controlled the line of scrimmage. It's not that complicated. It's dumb to think that something that worked against North Carolina will work against Clemson.

If you go 3 and out you can't run or pass actually. I don't recall many penalties so it's tough to say UofL was "behind the chains" on any first down.

I felt last year that when UofL got down then Petrino would go chasing for points rather than sticking to a coherent offensive plan. Appears to have happened again. Kudos to CU defense though.

 

[topdecktiger]

If you go 3 and out you can't run or pass actually. I don't recall many penalties so it's tough to say UofL was "behind the chains" on any first down.

I felt last year that when UofL got down then Petrino would go chasing for points rather than sticking to a coherent offensive plan. Appears to have happened again. Kudos to CU defense though.

You obviously don't understand the term "behind the chains." It doesn't mean literally behind the chains. It means you gain little/no yardage on 1st down and end up in 2nd or 3rd and long, which was the case with Louisville for most of the game. Even the announcers commented on how many times Louisville was in 3rd and long. That's a product of not being able to gain yardage on 1st or 2nd down, thus being "behind the chains."

 

[Rollem Cards]

We're sorry.

A Clemson FB fan must know more about us than we do.

Carry on with the tutorial.

We;re on pins and needles.

 

[Knucklehank1]

You obviously don't understand the term "behind the chains." It doesn't mean literally behind the chains. It means you gain little/no yardage on 1st down and end up in 2nd or 3rd and long, which was the case with Louisville for most of the game. Even the announcers commented on how many times Louisville was in 3rd and long. That's a product of not being able to gain yardage on 1st or 2nd down, thus being "behind the chains."

You obviously don't understand sarcasm. A reasonable thought is that we were "behind the chains" on 2nd and 3rd down because we were too predictable on 1st down. There wasn't a good play mix. You act as if it were a given that UofL couldn't run the ball on 1st down but your theory isn't backed up by fact.

 

[topdecktiger]

You obviously don't understand sarcasm. A reasonable thought is that we were "behind the chains" on 2nd and 3rd down because we were too predictable on 1st down. There wasn't a good play mix. You act as if it were a given that UofL couldn't run the ball on 1st down but your theory isn't backed up by fact.

Uh, yeah, my theory is backed up by fact. I watched the game. The reason Louisville couldn't run the ball is because Clemson's defensive line was controlling the line of scrimmage.

 

[Knucklehank1]

Uh, yeah, my theory is backed up by fact. I watched the game. The reason Louisville couldn't run the ball is because Clemson's defensive line was controlling the line of scrimmage.

The yards per carry would indicate that running the ball was an option. Of course having balance in playcalling opens up the pass game as well.

 

[ciswilldean3215]

Uh, him gaining nearly 40 yards on those 6 carries would make your statement an opinion. An opinion that would be wrong. And when you rip off a gain of 10+ yards on the first play of a drive and then throw three incomplete passes, it sets your defense up for failure. We were "behind the chains" because we continued to miss pass plays on 1st down setting up 2nd and 3rd and long. It really isn't that complicated and you have done nothing on this thread but state your opinion which isn't backed up by any actual facts or numbers. Thanks for coming over, go enjoy your win. You guys have a good team, doesn't mean our coaches didn't get outcoached too though.

You can't run the ball if the line isn't opening up holes. Some of this stuff is getting ridiculous. North Carolina has an awful defense. It's easy to feed a running back against a bad defense. When the opposing defense is stuffing the run, what the hell do you want the coaches to do?

 

[topdecktiger]

The yards per carry would indicate that running the ball was an option. Of course having balance in playcalling opens up the pass game as well.

I will leave it at this. I went back and wrote down all the plays Louisville ran in the 1st half. Here they are by each drive. So I'll just post the information, everyone can evaluate it how they wish, and leave it at that.

1st quarter

Drive 1
run +2 yards, incomplete pass, scramble +7, punt

Drive 2
run +2, incomplete pass, incomplete pass, punt

Drive 3
run +15 (qb)
run +30 (qb)
pass +20
run +9 & +penalty (qp)
pass +11 (touchdown)

Drive 4
pass +15
incomplete pass, run +5, sack, punt

2nd Quarter

Drive 1
pass +2, run +2 (qb), incomplete pass, punt

Drive 2
pass +12
-penalty (pass +8), incomplete pass, incomplete pass, incomplete pass, punt

Drive 3
run +15
incomplete pass, incomplete pass, incomplete pass, punt

Drive 4
pass +10
pass +10
sack, halftime

 

[Rollem Cards]

Ok coach.

You win again.

Now we're 2-2

 

[Ipartiedwithhopgood]

I will leave.

Sounds good.

 

[topdecktiger]

Ok coach.

You win again.

Now we're 2-2

Just to clarify, my previous comments had nothing to do with Clemson winning the game. As I told someone else, I would have the same comments and evaluation if this game was Michigan vs. Wisconsin. My argument was the criticism of the coach (Petrino), not regarding anything Clemson-related. Again, just a point of clarification.

 

[Cardiac Red]

Maybe I'm wrong, but haven't words to this effect been said every game since Houston?

Or since the Duke game last year when a lot of people on here were telling me we struggled because Cutcliffe was the next coming of Bill Belichick..