Karl Dorrell's clock management

by Nestor on Oct 4, 2005 1:21 PM PDT in Football

So lot of people rightfully are miffed at Karl Dorrell's decision to take the knee with about 25-30 seconds left in the first half and all three times outs against Washington. Seems like UCLA could have ran at least 5 to 6 plays before the half time and possibly get within a FG range. But of course we didn't even try. And now people are wondering about KD's clock management skills.

This is not the first time KD has screwn up game management. Remember KD's clock management during the SC game last year?:

UCLA had a great chance to beat the top ranked USC Tojans with 2:42 left in the 4th quarter. UCLA was down 29 to 17 but had the ball 3rd and 1 at the Trojans' 3 yard line. Instead of running a play, UCLA called a timeout. Many people will look back on this game and say that the crucial error occurred on Drew Olson's final interception two minutes later. But the real error occurred by calling consecutive timeouts on 3rd and 1 and then once again on 4th and 1.

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UCLA ultimately scored on 4th and one. UCLA fans were now very excited about their chances. But Sportegy.com enthusiasts were thinking that they had just made a major blunder. With only one timeout and 2:20 left in the game, UCLA was forced to try an onside kick which was recovered by USC. If UCLA had had 3 timeouts left, it could have kicked the ball away.

Some would say that UCLA needed to take the timeouts in order to strategize a better play to get them the touchdown. But Sportegy.com's own analysis has revealed that plays are only five percent more successful after a timeout. Couple that with the fact that onside kicks are less than 20 percent successful, and you can see that UCLA would be much better off sacrificing a five percent drop in likelihood to score a touchdown so they would not ahve to try a low percentage onside kick.

Even though the onside kick failed, UCLA got the ball back after a lucky fumble. After getting the ball back, the lack of timeouts finally put the nail in the Bruins coffin. There were only 53 seconds when UCLA recovered the fumble. There probably would have been about 1:45 left had UCLA been able to call timeouts after USC's two previous runs. With his back against the wall and the need to drive 86 yards in 53 seconds, Drew Olson threw a ricky pass down the field and it was intercepted. With more time on the clock UCLA could have thrown ten yarders all the way down the field into the end zone.

We want to give KD all the room to "grow" as a head coach. This is his third season, his money season. Now is the time he needs to show ... he is correcting mistakes from past season. Reading the tea leaves, early signs are not very encouraging.

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Look at the Oregon game last year, where Dorrell's ineptitude in regards to managing the game before the half almost allowed UCLA to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

If you don't remember, the camera flashed over to Dorrell grimacing over whether or not to call TO as the 2nd quarter wound down. You could absolutely tell that he had no idea what he was doing.

by Ajax on Oct 4, 2005 4:03 PM PDT reply actions

Do we even have a hurry up offense?

I can swear I have never seen us run a 2 minute drill before the half? Have we ever had one? Can anyone recall?

by Nestor on Oct 4, 2005 4:10 PM PDT reply actions

Even the FSN broadcast crew...

...were shocked when Dorrell did not attempt to move the ball down the field with any urgency before the half. It's torture watching this offense in time-sensitive situations.

And to answer your question, I can't recall seeing the 2 minute offense. Anyone else?

by Ajax on Oct 4, 2005 9:05 PM PDT reply actions