FB: 2024 Bowl Games

Yes, I stand corrected. But I still think that after a TFL and two incompletions ND was not going to score a TD, and Freeman didn't think so either. The odds of converting that TD, making the two point conversion, and then converting another with a two-point conversion were very poor. Admittedly, the odds of making a FG and getting two more possessions to convert TDs might not have been any better. The math is probably an imponderable.
The odds were slim regardless, and the win probability indicators actually said to kick the field goal (think it was something like +3% better odds with the field goal). I didn’t hate the call, as I think the momentum stays behind you as ND and now tOSU has to worry that two TDs mean they lose the game. The vibes did not feel good about ND making the first down and/or touchdown there. But either way is a rough call. Odds of getting the ball two more times with legit time on the clock weren’t great, but the odds of two TDs plus two 2-point roulettes aren’t great either.

I do think we think about this all differently if the field goal goes in. It’s hard to tell what momentum would have been like.

I get that it was the heat of the moment so harder to think straight, but they should have just taken the delay of game instead of rushing themselves like that. It was a chip-shot either way. Take the yards, calm yourself down, make the field goal. Again, a lot easier said than done, especially with the pressure of the situation.

I’ll pretend that because we’re Duke and of course, way smarter … (looks up US News) … yeah definitely way smarter, we would have done that. Yeah, I’ll tell myself that. Totally believe it. And we’re better looking too
 
The odds were slim regardless, and the win probability indicators actually said to kick the field goal (think it was something like +3% better odds with the field goal). I didn’t hate the call, as I think the momentum stays behind you as ND and now tOSU has to worry that two TDs mean they lose the game. The vibes did not feel good about ND making the first down and/or touchdown there. But either way is a rough call. Odds of getting the ball two more times with legit time on the clock weren’t great, but the odds of two TDs plus two 2-point roulettes aren’t great either.

I do think we think about this all differently if the field goal goes in. It’s hard to tell what momentum would have been like.

I get that it was the heat of the moment so harder to think straight, but they should have just taken the delay of game instead of rushing themselves like that. It was a chip-shot either way. Take the yards, calm yourself down, make the field goal. Again, a lot easier said than done, especially with the pressure of the situation.

I’ll pretend that because we’re Duke and of course, way smarter … (looks up US News) … yeah definitely way smarter, we would have done that. Yeah, I’ll tell myself that. Totally believe it. And we’re better looking too
If you get the first touchdown and don’t convert the two point conversion you are only down 10 at that point so you need a field goal and a touchdown vs two touchdowns.
 
If you get the first touchdown and don’t convert the two point conversion you are only down 10 at that point so you need a field goal and a touchdown vs two touchdowns.
Fair point. I honestly think that Freeman knew in his gut that after a TOL and two incompletions he just wasn't going to make a 9-yard TD the next play. The odds are poor either way as everyone acknowledges, but Freeman went with his gut. Personally, I think he was right but one can't measure or prove gut instinct.
 
I think something we can all agree on is that kickers are just the worst.

I don't have much of a leg, but have practiced kicking field goals before. How do pros and high-level college kickers miss a 27-yarder? I know they all do it, but it rarely makes sense to me.
 
I think something we can all agree on is that kickers are just the worst.

I don't have much of a leg, but have practiced kicking field goals before. How do pros and high-level college kickers miss a 27-yarder? I know they all do it, but it rarely makes sense to me.
WSJ incidentally recently had an article about the ND kicker and how his dad, a chiropractor, "saved his son and Notre Dame's season". This article came out prior to this game of course:
[subscription required]

Excerpt:
When their College Football Playoff fortunes hung in the balance, and a single kick would decide whether they advanced to the national championship game, Notre Dame had a secret weapon. It wasn’t Mitch Jeter, the graduate transfer who split the uprights with the 41-yard-kick that kept the Irish’s title hopes alive. It was the 57-year-old chiropractor in the stands who helped save Jeter’s—and Notre Dame’s—season.
[...] after a kickoff came up short against Stanford in October, Mitch texted his parents that he’d hurt his groin [...] Suddenly, [Coach Freeman's] otherwise championship-worthy roster couldn’t be trusted to finish drives with points. Notre Dame’s non-Jeter kickers have attempted only six field goals all season. They’ve made just two.
Kicking is hard and very specialized. I think the fact that you add game pressure/variability of a "one kick" makes it much harder and more statistical noise than you'd see otherwise. His kick in this instance barely missed obviously, hitting the upright. What was the kick recently that hit the upright and went in? NFL game maybe? We all just shrug it off, but one foot can make all the difference...between being a hero vs. not. That's the life of a kicker though.
 
WSJ incidentally recently had an article about the ND kicker and how his dad, a chiropractor, "saved his son and Notre Dame's season". This article came out prior to this game of course:
[subscription required]

Excerpt:


Kicking is hard and very specialized. I think the fact that you add game pressure/variability of a "one kick" makes it much harder and more statistical noise than you'd see otherwise. His kick in this instance barely missed obviously, hitting the upright. What was the kick recently that hit the upright and went in? NFL game maybe? We all just shrug it off, but one foot can make all the difference...between being a hero vs. not. That's the life of a kicker though.
Yeah, kicking anything is harder than it looks. Even the best soccer players in the world can miss tap-ins and send penalty kicks into the stands, which is about all the proof anyone should need.

Of course it still leaves you dumbfounded when it happens, even though misses are explicable.
 
WSJ incidentally recently had an article about the ND kicker and how his dad, a chiropractor, "saved his son and Notre Dame's season". This article came out prior to this game of course:
[subscription required]
Yes. They mentioned this at length in one of the earlier playoff games, and the reason it stuck in my brain was the eloquent commentator said something along the lines of "that young man can thank his father for his healthy groin."

Gotta be a better way to say that.

Yes, kickers are sort of the black swan of football. "You go stand on the sideline in the cold for several hours, and we will ask you to do a handful of things that are so run-of-the-mill and simple that you will get a ridiculous amount of criticism if you fair. Then, near the end of the game, we may ask you to bail us out in some extraordinary way with something that no one else on the team can do. Good luck!"
 
Jim Knowles is moving onto Penn State! Pretty surprising given he just won the national championship and Ohio State was set to make him the highest paid assistant in the country. And is moving to a conference rival. Penn State's deal is reportedly north of $3m annually, also making him the highest paid assistant in the country.

I imagine it's more than money that is motivating the move, but no clear reports on the exact reasons. He is a PA native (Philly....). His path to the top of the sport has been pretty remarkable, starting as HC for Cornell and then with us at Duke for 7 years.

Knowles even missed the Ohio State title celebration this past weekend in the stadium.

 
Jim Knowles is moving onto Penn State! Pretty surprising given he just won the national championship and Ohio State was set to make him the highest paid assistant in the country. And is moving to a conference rival. Penn State's deal is reportedly north of $3m annually, also making him the highest paid assistant in the country.

I imagine it's more than money that is motivating the move, but no clear reports on the exact reasons. He is a PA native (Philly....). His path to the top of the sport has been pretty remarkable, starting as HC for Cornell and then with us at Duke for 7 years.

Knowles even missed the Ohio State title celebration this past weekend in the stadium.

I remember when Duke (Cut?) took a ton of crap for hiring a guy from Cornell...at Duke it was evident he could coach defense.
 
there are some other high profile head coaches who have decided to become highly paid coordinators since it relieves them of a lot of duties they don't love, like managing the Porthole.
 
there are some other high profile head coaches who have decided to become highly paid coordinators since it relieves them of a lot of duties they don't love, like managing the Porthole.
I remember going to the Porthole in Chapel Hill when Durham had very few restaurants and a drive down 15-501 was a drive through the country. Didn’t know a head coach unwillingly managed that restaurant.😀
 
I remember going to the Porthole in Chapel Hill when Durham had very few restaurants and a drive down 15-501 was a drive through the country. Didn’t know a head coach unwillingly managed that restaurant.😀
Way off topic (to be fair the topic is in the rear view) but in high school I regularly rode my bike from Garrett Rd and up 15-501 to Franklin St without a concern in the world. Now I'd be road pizza after half a mile.
 
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