I'm glad Matt McGavic used the line "coping mechanism" in describing hand wringing over officiating. The call with Lacy was awful which is unfortunate because it lends itself to the whole remaining narrative of it being a poorly officiated game--my only remaining complaint is that Clark should have been ejected for what was called an unsportsmanlike conduct--especially in the context of Jamari Johnson's blindside blocking penalty in the fourth quarter. I don't care if Bell walked off the field and pissed on Clark's family members in the stands beforehand or even spit on him as some Notre Dame scribes have alleged. My complaint as it applies to the coping mechanism is I'm not so convinced on all of the spots and the one posted on Twitter over and over as "evidence" is a joke. The spot where the official took the football from the sideline to the spot on the left hash to have another official step in and correct it was because the official who moved it DID have the spot wrong. That's not a conspiracy folks, that was a corrected mistake and I didn't think Chaney was remotely close to getting the first down. I am of the mindset that if Chris Bell turns his 6"2, 220 pound frame upfield instead of angling to the sideline and trying to outrun a faster DB we're not pissing and moaning about the spot. And that's not even to mention the recipe for folly that ensued on 4th down where Brohm and the staff went into a brain lock thinking there was going to be a measurement. That whole sequence of events to me was horrifying because in a high pressure, high intensity situation Jeff looked like he was on Tilt more than in control of all the variables. I don't have a problem with the playcall of an option pitch on 4th and 1 into the shortside, I have a problem with it being Chaney who is a North/South exclusive runner and Jeff confessed as much postgame. The Browns were much better personnel fits for that play.
The "spots" on the the game's last drive were also vexing because of the same end of the half mismanagement. We got the ball back on our final drive at the 2:44 mark. 1st down run for 5 to midfield, next snap at the 2:21 mark run for 3 yards to the Notre Dame 47 and this is where I am equally as critical of Jeff as at the end of the first half...we had a two minute warning timeout and no remaining timeouts pocketed which is why the run on 2nd down I thought was dumb, dumb, dumb. Passing gave you more upside. Incompletion stops the clock and sets you up with 3rd and 5 and you can do that coming out of a huddle, completion more yardage, a clock stoppage for the 1st down and an extra play before the two minute warning. The whole sequence suggested to me in retrospect that Jeff didn't want to give Notre Dame any time to get off a long field goal if and when we scored. Honestly, I think we were probably going to go for two if we scored the touchdown on that drive but we'll never know. If I'm being honest I would have played for OT because I think defensively we had figured out Notre Dame's attack midway through the second quarter and virtually dominated to the point of the breakdown at the 9:00 mark of the 4th quarter.
...and again, that isn't officiating folks. Frankly, Jeff choked on the bit.
The "spots" on the the game's last drive were also vexing because of the same end of the half mismanagement. We got the ball back on our final drive at the 2:44 mark. 1st down run for 5 to midfield, next snap at the 2:21 mark run for 3 yards to the Notre Dame 47 and this is where I am equally as critical of Jeff as at the end of the first half...we had a two minute warning timeout and no remaining timeouts pocketed which is why the run on 2nd down I thought was dumb, dumb, dumb. Passing gave you more upside. Incompletion stops the clock and sets you up with 3rd and 5 and you can do that coming out of a huddle, completion more yardage, a clock stoppage for the 1st down and an extra play before the two minute warning. The whole sequence suggested to me in retrospect that Jeff didn't want to give Notre Dame any time to get off a long field goal if and when we scored. Honestly, I think we were probably going to go for two if we scored the touchdown on that drive but we'll never know. If I'm being honest I would have played for OT because I think defensively we had figured out Notre Dame's attack midway through the second quarter and virtually dominated to the point of the breakdown at the 9:00 mark of the 4th quarter.
...and again, that isn't officiating folks. Frankly, Jeff choked on the bit.
