Wasted Opportunities To Waste Clock Cost UMass
UMass' final full offensive possession against Buffalo was a disaster, but the Minutemen should have had the game won by that point anyway.
AMHERST, Mass. - The problem with UMass’ final full drive in the 28-21 loss to Buffalo on Saturday wasn’t the incomplete pass on third down that stopped the clock. If anything, the Minutemen should have been more aggressive in throwing the ball on that series.
The problem with that drive for UMass was that it had put itself in a position where it was unable to run out the clock without getting a first down in the first place.
The Minutemen took over possession at their own 10-yard line with 0:59 left and a one-point lead following Jeremiah McGill’s interception at the 19 and Derrieon Craig’s unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, which pushed them back nine yards.
Buffalo had all three timeouts, so without UMass picking up a new series of downs, the Bulls were guaranteed to get the ball back with around 40 seconds left on the clock one way or the other. After a pair of runs that had little chance of putting the Minutemen in position to pick up a first down - after each of which Buffalo called timeout - UMass faced a 3rd & 15 from its own 5.
Calling a run play isn’t going to take any additional time off the clock, it’s just going to force Buffalo to spend its final timeout. UMass called a pass play, which was incomplete.
That timeout would certainly be helpful for the situation the Bulls were about to find themselves in, but it wouldn’t be crucial. With 40 seconds left and the ball at midfield, needing to get into field goal range isn’t all that challenging with or without a timeout.
In college, the clock will start anytime a first down is gained - something that would be necessary - and with such little time remaining, downs aren’t as valuable, so any first down in bounds, the Bulls would be able to simply spike the ball to stop it, which would cost them about three seconds.
That final timeout would have provided Buffalo with some cushion and additional flexibility, but it was not a must-have.
For that matter, the two timeouts UMass forced the Bulls to burn on first and second down weren’t must-haves either.
Rather than focusing on getting Buffalo to use those, UMass should have been doing everything it could have to pick up one first down, which would end the game provided the Minutemen didn’t run out of bounds when they picked it up.
It’s hindsight to be sure, but UMass could have used the element of surprise to its advantage, lining up in a power set and running playaction or trying to get Hairston on a bootleg with the option to run or pass. Or, the Minutemen could have simply run their regular offense, intent on picking up just 10 yards and winning the game.
Still a tall task as anybody who has watched UMass’ offense this fall knows.
That last meaningful drive is easy to focus on, especially since it came in the immediate aftermath of the interception and the penalty.
But the real mistakes were made on UMass’ previous offensive drive.
After forcing a Buffalo punt, UMass took over at its own 24 with 10:58 remaining on the clock.
The Minutemen managed to burn 7:52 off the clock during a 15-play, 40-yard drive. Certainly not the worst UMass drive of the season. The problem is, they still left a ton of time on the clock by repeatedly snapping the ball so early into the playclock throughout.
The clock was obviously stopped on first down, but over the next six plays, UMass snapped the ball with 20, 14, 8, 17, 28, and 13 seconds still left on the play clock, respectively. There was at least some awareness of trying to burn the clock, evident by Brandon Hood’s decision to slide after picking up a first down with under eight minutes to play rather than risking running out of bounds to stop it.
Yet, UMass continued to operate at a quicker pace than necessary, snapping the ball with 13, 27, 17, 11 and 12 seconds left on the play clock over the next five plays.
It wasn’t until a defensive holding penalty on Buffalo gave UMass a first down at the Bulls’ 35-yard line with 4:50 to play that the Minutemen truly slowed down. By then, unfortunately, UMass had wasted opportunities to waste the time.
By the time Derek Morris missed his 54-yard field goal, Buffalo took over with 3:06 to play.
In total, UMass left 180 seconds - three full minutes of gametime - on the clock that didn’t need to be there. Now, taking every snap all of the way down to the very last second isn’t feasible and the idea that everything plays out exactly the same simply is untrue.
However, as head coach Joe Harasymiak pointed out after the game, Buffalo probably wasn’t going to start using its timeouts until it got near the two-minute timeout. The Minutemen should have easily been able to get to that point on the clock during the drive.
And, if Buffalo spends even one timeout on that drive, UMass only needs one defensive stop to secure the win, not two.
That interception actually would have essentially sealed the game, regardless of whether the defensive player provided better field position with a return or how many stupid penalties were committed in the aftermath.
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I hate ever blaming coaching for a loss. I believe that the coaches create the game plan and it is up to the players to execute. But in this case, unfortunately I put it entirely on the coaching staff. These are young players, with a young quarterback, that have not been in this situation. As much as it hurts week in and week out to watch us lose, I at least want to believe we are moving in the right direction. We played well enough to win, but the coaches need to do a better job of slowing the game down when the time comes. We are so used to playing from behind and playing with tempo that it seems to be all they know. I don't know how I can be screaming at the tv to slow down but the coaches don't see it happening in front of them. Don't misunderstand, I think this is a very good coaching staff and we are moving in the right directon, but I think we saw head coaching inexperience play out in this game, which is something we can't afford to have when we are still learning to win with young guys. Again, I hate blaming coaches, but in this case they needed to do better. That was a win that this fan base needed after that embarrassing Kent State loss and they let it slip through their fingers.