Too many coaches great at building programs still are terrible with in-game decisions. Those type of coaches were on display during Week 10 of the 2024 college football season. Our Weekly Football IQ segment features two specific coaches who fit that mold to a T and another high-profile coach who was supposed to be the opposite but is turning out to not be that either. Let’s go ahead and dive in.
Hugh Freeze timeout before two-minute warning
Typically, we reserve this segment for coaches who made decisions to lose their team the game. The Auburn Tigers were already trailing the Vanderbilt Commodores 17-7 with just over two minutes to go, so a win seemed extremely unlikely no matter what. However, a dumb timeout by Hugh Freeze made it impossible. It was so stupid he had to make the list.
After a stop that brought up fourth down with 2:02 to go, Freeze took a timeout. Vandy was about to punt the ball, so the clock was going to stop on the next possession anyway. Freeze could have just taken the two-minute warning. Auburn fumbled on the next play, so it didn’t matter, but Freeze WRECKED his team’s chances by wasting that timeout.
James Franklin lines up OL at WR
No head coach in college football has a bigger gap between great program building and horrific in-game management. It’s why the Penn State Nittany Lions always lose their big games under James Franklin. With just under seven minutes to go, trailing 20-13 to the Ohio State Buckeyes, Penn State brought up a 1st and goal from the 3-yard line.
Franklin called three straight runs up the gut from shotgun. On 2nd and 3rd downs, he inexplicably put an offensive lineman out at receiver and sent him in motion, which did nothing but cost PSU an extra blocker. He then did the same thing on fourth down and threw the ball DOWN A RECEIVER! WHY would he make this decision? This stupid trickery that fooled nobody cost them.
Lincoln Riley throws it 50 times
A recurring theme in this show is USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley abandoning the run game even when it’s working. Against the Washington Huskies, ranked 14th in the Big Ten in rush yards allowed per carry, he did it again. Riley had a running back in Woody Marks who was averaging over five and a half yards a carry, as he had 123 yards and a touchdown on 22 attempts.
However, Riley decided to ignore that and throw it 50 times with his erratic quarterback in Miller Moss, who was 30-of-50 with three interceptions. All the way down the field on the second to last drive, USC ran it up until 2nd and goal from the 2. Then Riley threw it, and that drive ended in a turnover on downs. They were stopped again in the red zone to lose 26-21 a drive later after Riley threw it four times.
Brent Pry plays for overtime at Syracuse
Similar to Franklin, Brent Pry knows how to build a college football program, but he is atrocious on gameday. The Virginia Tech Hokies are 5-4 right now, but they could be 8-1 if he hadn’t made basic mistakes in every game, which is why he continually finds himself on this list. On the road against the Syracuse Orange last week, he did it again.
After allowing a game-tying touchdown in regulation, Virginia Tech had the ball on its own 25 with three timeouts left and 30 seconds and the score tied at 31. In every scenario, you play for the game-winning field goal here, but especially on the road in a shootout. Instead, Pry took a knee and played for overtime, where he lost 38-31. Bad move.
Sonny Dykes 4th and 2 punt at Baylor 46
Punting is the most overdone thing in the NFL or college football, and the analytics prove that. However, it’s even dumber when you are locked in a shootout and have the ball in your opponents’ territory needing less than two yards. That’s the mistake Sonny Dykes did as the TCU Horned Frogs lost 37-34 to the Baylor Bears.
With the score tied at 27 and just over 10 minutes to go in the game, TCU had the ball 4th and 2 on the Baylor 46. Dykes’ defense had just given up two straight touchdowns and was tired. He needed to keep the offense on the field. Instead, in the most fearful move of the college football season, he punted, and he only netted 27 yards. Baylor went on to score on the next drive en route to victory.
