Or how about..."Why didn't we challenge, or the booth challenge, that 'catch' before they punted it away?" That was 10 yards we could have on the punt return. The guy's feet were not on the field when he secured possession.
Not having Papi field that punt was taking conservatism to an extreme. No fielding, no chance of muffing. But having listened to Frank acknowledge being "a little conservative," not fielding that punt was still a headscratcher.
Then came play calling that not only had me again scratching my head, but went counter to the earlier imaginative, aggressive play calling. Before recounting that headscratching play calling, let me relate some perspective. To wit, when Dorian Brown left the game, two disadvantages followed him from the field. One: He is quicker to and thru holes than AJ. Two: He stresses defenses more on options than does AJ. If you watched the game - I was there - you know that in the second half there were 2 or 3 plays on which Ohio's OL opened nice holes for AJ that looked likely to result in gains of 7 or more yards. Instead they led to gains of 2 or so yards. Now, we come to that fateful possession following the non-fielded punt. First down: AJ for little or no gain. Second down: AJ for little or no gain. Third down: Short sideline completion. Fourth down: a deep fade, LOW PERCENTAGE pass. What was Coach Albin thinking?
The same thing Albin always is thinking ..... nothing.
He's brain dead. His play-calling has been baffling for nearly a decade.
That was one of the worst called 2H of football I've ever seen.
They came out of the locker room after half and promptly went three-and-out.
What?!?!
How many times did he have to run AJUTM to realize that maybe ... just maybe it isn't going to work tonight like it did vs. Toledo.
The only play call I'll give him credit for is the TD run by Rourke when they FINALLY faked to AJUTM and Rourke kept it for the easy score.
Why did Frank elect to kick FG on 4th and inches from 1 foot line .... maybe because Albin has continually proven to fail in that situation?!
The guy is awful when it comes to calling plays.
And then decision to NOT have Papi field that punt is laughable. All he has to do is fair catch it at the Akron 40 or 45 and you need 10 yards to kick game tying FG .... oh wait .... Albin couldn't even get 10 yards on that drive.
Pathetic display all around from this staff .... again. From not having the team mentally prepared ... for not righting the ship when they blew a 21-10 2Q lead ... for not making adjustments in the 1H defensively when Akron was abusing the secondary with a backup QB ... or in the 2H offensively when they continued to run AJ into a brick wall just about every play.
But again ... this has been the same story for 13 years with these guys. Longest tenured clown show in CFB. We keep getting sucked in thinking "maybe this will be the year it all comes together .... they won't blow it this year" ... and then they lose games like CMU at home and at Akron with league title on the line.