During the 4th quarter of our win at Clemson, I remarked that Brohm’s decision to go conservative and “run the clock” may be following the old textbook that was used 20 years ago. However, the game as evolved significantly and letting off the accelerator only gives the opponent a huge advantage when trying to make up a couple of TDs.
In fairness, the defensive penalties certainly gave Stanford a boost, but I believe Brohm going conservative offensively in the third and fourth quarter contributed to Stanford’s ability to come back, just as Clemson did. Running the football on 1st and 2nd down puts a lot of pressure on Shough and our receivers to complete a pass on 3rd down to sustain the series. We did that successfully several times, until we didn’t ……… giving the ball back to the opponent, who will most assuredly use all 4 downs, is just an invitation to help them have a chance to get back in the game.
I have no interest in talking about a coaching change, despite these unexpected and humiliating upsets like yesterday. Personally, I believe that Jeff needs to learn a lesson here …….. don’t let off the offensive accelerator when ahead. Shough was picking Stanford’s secondary apart, and we should have added to the 15 point advantage, rather than going conservative when trying to eat up the clock.
