We were rolling in the first half offensively. Going for more points was all in our favor. Half time adjustments favored Maryland.
As far as protecting the ball, which turnover happens most on percentage basis -- interceptions or RB fumbles?
Hole Poll: What grade would you give Gophers coaching in big win over Maryland?
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As far as protecting the ball, which turnover happens most on percentage basis -- interceptions or RB fumbles?
PMWinSTP
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So flunked the midterm...
GopherWeatherGuy
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Halftime adjustments favored Maryland? The Gophers shut them out in the second half until they scored the garbage TD with a minute left.
bleedsmaroonandgold
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I struggle to give worse than an A for a solid thumping of a conference open, but the train wreck at the end of the first half drops it to a B for me.
I saw PJ said something about "playing the percentages." I would be fascinated to see what percentages he is talking about, because my understanding is that advanced analytics almost always show that coaches' decisions and "conventional wisdom" is far too conservative in football, and this was extreme in as much as it felt like one of the most bizarrely over-conservative decisions I have ever seen. If there is hard data showing that shutting down your offense that close to the end zone with that much time left on second down is the optimal decision, I have yet to have seen it. Don't have much sympathy for the "don't want to leave them any time" argument because our defense has been our strength, Maryland wasn't exactly tearing us up, and I expect our defense to be able to defend the length of the field for 30-40 seconds (and if they can't, that's its own issue).
I'd maybe be open to it if we were up 21 points (instead of 7), felt like we basically had the game won at the half, and the only real threat was letting them pull within 14 at the half. That said, even there I would expect us to have enough confidence to try some low-risk throws that gave us a shot at the TD and extend the lead a little further. Also, if our goal was to avoid risking giving up a TD, we almost surrendered one anyways.
I saw PJ said something about "playing the percentages." I would be fascinated to see what percentages he is talking about, because my understanding is that advanced analytics almost always show that coaches' decisions and "conventional wisdom" is far too conservative in football, and this was extreme in as much as it felt like one of the most bizarrely over-conservative decisions I have ever seen. If there is hard data showing that shutting down your offense that close to the end zone with that much time left on second down is the optimal decision, I have yet to have seen it. Don't have much sympathy for the "don't want to leave them any time" argument because our defense has been our strength, Maryland wasn't exactly tearing us up, and I expect our defense to be able to defend the length of the field for 30-40 seconds (and if they can't, that's its own issue).
I'd maybe be open to it if we were up 21 points (instead of 7), felt like we basically had the game won at the half, and the only real threat was letting them pull within 14 at the half. That said, even there I would expect us to have enough confidence to try some low-risk throws that gave us a shot at the TD and extend the lead a little further. Also, if our goal was to avoid risking giving up a TD, we almost surrendered one anyways.