Going for Two: Why Shannon Made the Right Choice.

I hate coaches who are forced to chase points late in games because of their own stupidity trying a two point conversion which fails before we really know how the game will shake out. Butch Davis was one of these coaches and his desire to chase points in the first half after Andy Crossland missed an extra point cost UM a game in Blacksburg against VT in 1997, a game which the Canes should have won. Miami then went for two the next two times they scored and ended up with 25 points, losing 27-25, when simply kicking the extra points would have likely sent the game to overtime.  I've seen this scenario play out countless times with other teams as well. A coach tries to compensate too early for missed extra point or starts calculating that a 24 point defect is actually 3 TDs + 3 two point plays instead of 3 TD + 1 FG. This usually leads to the coach who goes for two in an unnecessary situation leaving several points on the table, and often times as it did with the Canes in 1997, costing them the game( and in that case bowl eligibility for a probation saddled Miami team).

Randy Shannon's decision not to go for two yesterday to possibly cut the FSU lead to 31-23 (one score) to me showed a great deal of maturity as a head coach. Today everyone seems to be complaining about this decision. Let me explain why it was correct.

Assuming you miss the conversion try which is a fairly safe assumption with the Canes red zone offense you are ten point behind in the game. That means you can only tie the game with a TD and field goal. That means for instance, Miami would have been down three at 34-31 instead of down two with the potential to win the game at 34-32. Miami's defense makes any of those critical third down stops they did not make on FSU's game winning drive and Miami is a FG away from WINNING the game, not tying it.

If several scores are left in a game and it is still the third quarter (as it was when Travis Benjamin's TD cut the FSU lead to 31-22) going for two is almost the worst thing a coach can do to stifle momentum and leave points on the table. Especially in a game where 53 points had been scored with 5 minutes remaining in the third quarter and where you'd have to assume many more scores were coming, forcing your team to chase points the rest of the game could swing a one score difference to a two score difference or tie game to a three point deficit, etc, etc.

Shannon's decision not to go for two impressed me. For all his other issues as a Head Coach, he is not a typical College Head Coach who begins chasing points and ultimately the game too early.

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