It’s back. College football never has a shortage of head coaches who make the dumbest decisions in games to cost their teams. Our Football IQ segment for Week 1 of 2024 includes a coach running out two players with the same number and another settling for a long field goal to win. Here are the five worst coaching moves of the weekend.
Mike Elko, Texas A&M pass on 4th and 2
This isn’t always bad, but it depends on the circumstance. Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Connor Weigman was 12 of 30 for just 100 yards and two interceptions on the night against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. That’s not a guy who you should trust to convert a short-yardage play.
Late in the game, down 20-13, Mike Elko made a crucial mistake in his first game as head coach of the program. He took a timeout and then called a pass play on 4th and 2. You absolutely can’t put the ball in Weigman’s hands there. I believe in Elko long-term, but this one was a terrible decision.
P.J. Fleck, Minnesota settle for 47-yard field goal to win
If you watched last Friday night, the Golden Gophers lost to the North Carolina Tar Heels 19-17. P.J. Fleck made a comedy of errors in this one, from calling a draw on 3rd and goal from the 9 in the first half to burning two timeouts early. However, his worst move came at the end of the game.
Trailing 19-17, Minnesota was on the UNC 29 with a timeout left and 20 seconds. Fleck called a draw play again for no gain and let the clock run down to attempt a game-winning field goal with four seconds left. It missed. In college football, you should never settle for a long field goal like that. Minnesota kicker Dragan Kesich had already missed a shorter one on the night.
Tom Herman burns two timeouts
Also on Friday night, the Florida Atlantic Owls had a chance to upset the Michigan State Spartans on the road. However, down late, former Texas Longhorns coach Tom Herman showed why he lost that job in the first place with his gross mismanagement of the clock, costing his team a shot at an upset. He did it in the peak way for college football coaches: Wasting timeouts.
Trailing 16-10 late, FAU had the ball. On 3rd and 15 near midfield, Herman burned a timeout with around 90 seconds left in the game. He then burned a second timeout on the ensuing play, which was 4th and 14. Because he didn’t get it, he only had one when MSU got the ball back, not enough time to stop the clock. STOP WASTING TIMEOUTS TO TALK ABOUT PLAYS!!!
Brian Kelly runs prevent defense in LSU loss to USC
I don’t fault Brian Kelly for going for it early, and he wasn’t even the worst coach in this game. Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley complete misused his timeouts in both halves and should be on this list, but Kelly bailed him out on that final game-winning drive for USC. He did it with poor defensive coaching by essentially running a prevent defense late.
USC had the ball with the score tied at 20, nearly two minutes and one timeout. Kelly and the Tigers’ staff, on the first two plays, had a cover-2 with a three-man rush, which is next-level stupid in any scenario but dumber when the opponent needs a field goal to win. Of course, USC moved the ball, which made LSU desperate, and that set up their touchdown.
Virginia Tech runs out two players with the same number
You can give the Vanderbilt Commodores credit for upsetting the Virginia Tech Hokies while recognizing that it never would have happened if Brent Pry didn’t have one of the worst oversights in college football history. Up 17-10, Vandy was about to punt on 4th and 15 from the VT 40, and Clark Lea had given them a gift with a delay of game penalty.
However, on the punt, VT ran out two players with the same number, Ali Jennings and Keli Lawson, who wear No. 0, which is a five-yard penalty. That put Vandy within range of Brock Taylor, who nailed a 53-yarder. When VT came back, they did enough to send it to overtime, where they lost. If they don’t make this mistake, though, that field goal never happens, and they win.
