First- and second-guessing turned out to be the same

With 1 minute, 16 seconds left in a 24-24 game, Temple quarterback Evan Simon hit Kajiya Hollawayne at Navy the 1 and Hollawayne was fortunate enough not to score.

I say fortunate because that gave Temple some time to play with and an opportunity to burn Navy’s last two time outs.

A gift, really.

No way the team on the right should have lost to the team on the left.

There were a couple of Navy fans in front of me and I leaned over to one and said:

“If I’m you guys, I would let Temple score here. If I’m Temple, I take three knees, make Navy take two timeouts and kick a field goal to win the game.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right.”

America’s next Military leaders never had an opportunity to pull a France and surrender because Temple scored a touchdown on the next play and it looked like the Midshipmen, as they have all night, put up a fight.

That meant Temple gave the ball back to Navy with that 1:16 still on the clock.

I leaned over to my Navy fan friend and said, “That’s too much time with this quarterback.”

He tried to console me.

“Temple has a good quarterback, too,” he said.

“Yeah, I know but it won’t make much difference because he’s probably not going to get the ball back.”

We all know what happened after that. Blake Horvath, who in my mind is every bit the quarterback (and probably more) than Oklahoma’s John Mateer in the Heisman Trophy race, did what Heisman Trophy winners do and negotiate the length of the field.

Navy, 32-31, game, set and match.

By my calculations, a first-down knee and a second-down knee kills both Navy timeouts. A third-down knee takes the clock to about 40 seconds or less.

A fourth-down FG from extra point distance wins the game, 27-24.

Or at least gives the ball back to Horvath with 40 seconds and no timeouts as opposed to 1:16 and two timeouts left.

Maybe Horvath takes the ball all the way down the field. Maybe he doesn’t but, what he actually did with those 40 seconds was to get the ball to midfield.

That’s where the game would have ended all things considered.

Afterward, Temple head coach K.C. Keeler said he “wasn’t comfortable” with taking knees and anything could happen but, to me, after a first down on the 1, you can pretty much safely take a step back and down the ball without a disaster.

The alternative was worse.

Keeler also said there would be second-guessing and “I get that” but, when the second-guessing also includes the first guessing a Mike Philadelphia had with a Joe Annapolis guy while this was unfolding, that’s where I don’t buy it.

I’m thinking we weren’t the only two people in the stadium having that same discussion with 1:16 left.

Every NFL team would have done the same thing which means great coaches, even Hall of Fame ones like Keeler, occasionally make mental mistakes.

Just like the one a pitcher for the Hometown baseball team made a couple of nights ago. This hurts a whole lot worse.

Monday: Game Week

10 thoughts on “First- and second-guessing turned out to be the same

  1. What a horrible way to lose a football game. I know it’s only year one for KCK but these are the 50/50 games he talks about winning and we let it slip. Gut hasn’t been punched this hard since the eagles lost in SB 57

    • I care about all of the Philadelphia teams, but this is the team I care most about and I’m absolutely dumbfounded that Temple didn’t do what every single NFL team would have done under the same circumstances. Trying to wrap my head around this and my only guess is that he thought Hardin could miss that field goal but it was really an extra point.

  2. Genius move by Navy forcing Temple to use their last timeout on the extra point try.

    Keeler got outcoached today, but the Owls will bounce back. All will be forgotten when Temple beats Charlotte, Tulsa, and Army.

    It could be worse, just ask James Franklin!

  3. Maybe I’m wrong but when Temple got the ball back it seemed like the refs let seconds click off the clock which COULD have given the Owls enough time to get into field goal range – seconds make a big difference at the end of games like this. Also our D-backs let 3 big Navy plays (pass for TD in the first half, Horvaths 50 yard run for TD at the end and that 2 point conversion) succeed, because of miscommunication? Such a disappointment to an otherwise well played game – could have been a huge win.

    • I knew the game was lost when we failed to make Navy burn those timeouts with a 1st and goal at the 1. That was the opportunity to win the game. Anything after that was waiting for the inevitable final gun. That timeout that Navy tricked Temple into taking on the 2-point conversion would have never happened. Horvath wouldn’t have taken a chance on a 51-yard run with no timeouts left. Just an incredible blown opportunity. This is why Brian Westbrook slid down at the 1 against the Cowboys one year instead of going in for the touchdown. Same principle.

  4. Had the same thought at the game that they left too much time on the clock when they punched it in…but at the end of the day, would rather be having these conversations than lamenting losing by 40 to Tulane.

    • Amazing I’m telling Navy fans to let Temple score while at the same time telling Temple to take 3 knees and kick the FG for the win in real time and a Hall of Fame head coach not see that. This is standard operating procedure in the NFL under similar circumstances, so it doesn’t take a genius to figure it out. We could have easily had this conversation after a win not a loss. Trying to give K.C. an out here and the only one I can think of is he was spooked by Carl Hardin’s 38-yard miss in the first quarter. But even that doesn’t make sense because this was an XP distance kick, not a 38-yard FG.

  5. Yes I too believe we had the game won had coach K done the preferred three knee thing. And that’s the gut wrencher here. But I am impressed with this team’s talent, particularly QB Evan Simon. So we move on to a 7-5 season IMO and a bowl bid. Recall we were 3-9 the previous four seasons. Let’s do the next thing and beat Charlotte!

  6. Mike, can’t add anything more that what’s been said here and I agree with KJ about beating Charlotte, Tulsa and Army and James G that I think this team finishes 7-5 with things looking up going forward. Also, it was great meeting you and chatting in the alumni tailgate tent yesterday. Hopefully will see you 11/1 against ECU.

  7. Pingback: Temple’s bowl hopes now rest on a 90/10 game – Temple Football Forever

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