Just pulled in the driveway and should go to bed, but I can't stop thinking about the call to go for two.  I was stunned to watch Frank pull that out of the hat.  OU had the momentum.  Our defense was getting stops late in the game and we had the clear advantage in the kicking game.  It isn't like it was catching them off-guard.  Marshall called a timeout as soon as they saw the formation.  After the timeout, the two-point conversion should be off the table.  Awful, awful, awful decision to not kick the ball.

Other random thoughts:

1.)  Pass the ball:  This is what works best for our team.  Our receivers are pretty good, especially McCrae.  I like Dunlop and Goulet, too.  Get them the ball, because our running game is not very good at all.  Boo's armstrength did not look bad tonight.  If Bates is on the field, it should be at RB, not QB.  He is not the answer under center.

2.  Bush League banning the Cheerleaders:  They had nothing to do with the Rufus fracas last week.  Kudos to the girls that made the trip out of uniform to support the team.  Bad admin decision.  They also get to stay home next week. as a result of this.  What good does a 2-week suspension serve to those that weren't involved, or to blame? 

3.)  Marshall does a nice job on stadium atmosphere:    Their new scoreboards and sound system are really nice.  The concessions are plentiful and well-staffed.  I was really surprised at how well-run everything was.  Outside of the final score, I had a great time and I'm glad we went.

4.)  This is a good series for us:  I completely disagree with Love that this is an awful matchup.  There were 28,000 fans in the stadium tonight for two pretty bad teams.  This is a regional rivalry that will continue to sell tickets to both stadiums.  It is not going to be our marquee matchup every year, but I love the series for exactly what it is.  The game was close, the crowd (both teams) was really into it, and it an easy drive for a lot of our fans.  I went with a bunch of Marshall fans and they are excited about coming to Athens next year.  The purpose of the matchup is to fill the stadium without having to sell our soul to get the other team to play in Peden.  This series accomplishes that. 

Off to bed.  It's 1:36 AM and I have a tee time at 8:32. 

Boo's arm is better than Bates' feet.  Play the Ghost!  Like 695 said, great atmosphere for a game that will draw every year.  Should be fun next year in Peden.

Yeah, something that a casual observer could figure out after one or two quarters probably shouldn't take the coaching staff 3+ games to figure out.

My only question is why we went with the hail mary on that 2nd last play.  Wouldn't an option run from the pistol out of a four receiver set have had a better chance?

Going for two was the right call, there really shouldn't be any argument over this.

Bates doesn't even look like he has every played QB in his life.

If boo doesn't get the start next game then someone needs to be fired.

oh, and stop running the option.

Unfortunately, OU only sold 300 tickets and 150 of them were to OU-Southern for distribution to students.  Of course some bought tickets elsewhere to get better seats, but most OU fans don't really seem to care about this series based on Saturday nite.  But then, most OU fans don't care about OU football wherever they play.  The Marshall fans came out because they "knew" they would win this game without any problem.  Read the Landon article on the home page about the game to give you some idea of what their experts think about OU.

The one thing that impressed me about the Marshall crowd was the large number of kids dressed in Marshall attire.  They grow their fans early.

My understanding is that Marshall sent O.U. 300 tickets for the game and 50 unsold tickets were returned to Huntington on 9/17. The current deal on the series is that each school only pays the expenses for the visiting teams and there are no other revenue paid to the teams. I understand the former AD at MU negotiated the current deal and I think the contract should be revisited ASAP since MU would be leaving a lot of money on the table under the current contract.. The former AD also negotiated the current  BGSU/MU series and the new AD is dropping that series. If I am wrong about the details of the Marshall OU series details, please correct me.

For those of you at the game, here is my question.

Marshall announced the crowd at 28,000+, does this not leave the question of our attendance numbers when we announce 19,000-20,000 like we have this year? 

I wouldn't be using Peden as any kind of barometer for college football atmosphere.

It's not really the population thing-it's the winning tradition thing in my opinion.  They've had some great teams over the years and they still think they can get back to that level with a new coach after 3-4 years with Snyder,  If population determined butts in the seats , what do you do with Akron or Temple?

That is exactly what I am saying, I think that crowd is further evidence of over reporting on our end.

14,000 to 15,000, I have stated this before and I will state this again, Peden Stadium is not as big as listed, your seats on the East and West Stands are numbered to a 1980's standard and do not have near the capacity to hold actual numbers.

I have actually counted the seats in the stadium. Not including Victory Hill the stadium seats 21,600. Ohio is selling tickets to sit on the Hill when there isn't enough seats. This is why I keep yammering on the need to put some more seats into the stadium. You are right that in some games actual crowds are more like 15,000 than 18,000 but the tickets have been sold or distributed. 

I don't know. I've sat shoulder to shoulder with 27 people in those rows but I agree 16-20 in a row like that makes it look packed as far as cameras notice. Something should be done to improve the seating.