The Cincinnati Bearcats were about as dysfunctional as a litter of puppies trying to swim in an empty pool against Temple on Saturday night. Gunner Kiel threw four interceptions, the most from a UC quarterback in a game over the five years, UC allowed another kickoff return for a touchdown, were completely fooled on a Temple onside kick, the coaches’ game management was questionable at best, the list goes on and on.
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But one decision by Coach Tuberville that seems to have some fans in a tizzy was a two point conversion attempt early in the third quarter, that is was beyond insane to go for it so “early” in the game. I don’t necessarily share that opinion. Let’s relive that situation.
It was literally 33 seconds into the third quarter when the Bearcats found themselves down 17-6. Jahad Thomas had taken the opening kickoff of the second half to the house and Cincinnati had just answered with an 88-yard touchdown pass from Kiel to Mekale McKay. UC was then down 17-12.
Now, let’s pause and take a step back for a moment. In a matter of 33 seconds, the Bearcats and Owls combined for two touchdowns, nearly as many points (13) as they scored during the entirety of the first half (16). But that was about as explosive as either team had appeared all game long. The first half was a litany of punts and field goals, with Temple the only team that was able to convert a respectable drive into a touchdown.
So Tuberville sees a team down five in a game that’s been slogging along behind two fairly stingy defenses. McKay’s touchdown, Cincinnati’s first of the game believe it or not, could very well be the last touchdown of the game, so he needs to try to cut the deficit down to a field goal. He sends the offense out to attempt the two point conversion, it fails, and the score remained 17-12.
That’s just the way it goes, sometimes.
Sure, looking back, UC probably should have gone for the extra point. Hindsight’s 20-20, after all. The Bearcats of course lost by eight and making the kick at that moment would have ensured Cincinnati wouldn’t have had to go for two if they scored on their last drive of the game. But does that necessarily make it the worst decision in the history of collegiate coaching?
It’s not like Tuberville is some kind of all-seeing, all-knowing being. How should he know that the Owls were going to go on a scoring rampage in the third quarter? At the end of the game, going for the easy extra point mathematically was the better decision but in the moment, given the facts at hand, the two point conversation made sense.
For that reason, I don’t understand the need to lambaste the man for it. He saw an opportunity to keep the game within a field goal, knowing the slow pace of play up, and made a coaching decision with a 50-50 chance of success. As you know, plenty of things happened Saturday night that would cause you to pull your hair out, and justifiably so. But this isn’t one of them.