On Saturday, the No. 11 Oregon State Beavers fell 27-24 on the road to the unranked Arizona Wildcats. One notable part of that came at the end of the first half, where Oregon State opted for a fake field goal from 34 yards out with two seconds left and had kicker Atticus Sappington stopped at the seven-yard line on a run, meaning they went into the half tied 10-10 rather than up 13-10. That decision took a lot of criticism, including from analyst Rod Gilmore on the broadcast:
"It's all or nothing. You've got to get to the end zone. You don't get another first down here. And that's the guy you want to try to have break tackles? I don't get it."
Rod Gilmore on Oregon State's baffling decision to try a fake field goal with 2 seconds left in the half. pic.twitter.com/PYUojRRmyt
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 29, 2023
Gilmore was far from alone there, with many fans and media also blasting the Beavers’ decision on Twitter. And that decision looked worse still when Oregon State eventually fell by three points, scoring a touchdown to get within that margin with 1:38 left but proving unable to recover the subsequent onside kick. And after the game, Beavers’ head coach Jonathan Smith admitted the fake FG was a mistake in that situation:
Here's what Jonathan Smith had to say postgame about the fake FG to end the half:
"Ultra aggression. That starts with me and it shouldn't have been… Asking Atticus to score from 20 yds out… It was just a bad call… The logic going into the thing was a medium 4th and 5, 6." pic.twitter.com/fSMt3L4TSl
— Brenna Greene (@BrennaGreene_) October 29, 2023
However, quarterback DJ Uiagalelei defended the call:
Oregon State QB DJ Uiagalelei, on fake field goal decision:
“I wasn’t surprised at all. I thought it was a great call. At the end of the day, we will live and die by coach Smith and whatever he wants to do. I support him 110%."https://t.co/hjaj0YCSBM
— Nick Daschel (@nickdaschel) October 29, 2023
The thing is, the playcall here would have worked great if not for the clock situation. Sappington picked up plenty of yardage, and that would normally have led to a new set of downs. But the amount of time left meant the Wildcats only had to keep Sappington out of the end zone, and they were able to do that.
This is far from the first controversial clock management decision we’ve seen in football. And it surely won’t be the last. But it’s interesting to see Smith admit that this was a mistake.
[Brenna Greene on Twitter]
