Postgame P: Gregorian chants, Weeble Wobbles and Island Chill

You’re about to become more intimately acquainted with my cerebral side.

In addition to writing (and talking) about football and recruiting year-round, I have a number of different pastimes for which I try to set aside regular time. One such pastime is chess, a game I began playing at age seven. I still try to play daily, sometimes multitasking and knocking out a rapid game on my phone while I use the stationary bike at the gym.

I find the time-honored game of chess quite compelling. It’s a beautiful paradox — a board of sixty-four squares, with the same thirty-two pieces arranged on either end of the board in identical fashion to start every game, and yet the various positions that can be attained amongst those pieces are virtually infinite. For hundreds of years, people far smarter than you and I have written books of chess theory, and yet virtually all of that theory is only applicable to the first 10-15 moves of the game, because the position of the pieces will almost inevitably wind up being unique thereafter.

In reference to football, many will use the term “chess match” as a metaphor for a game that features an intense back-and-forth battle, especially one that boils down to strategy more so than brute force. But I’m not entirely convinced that we always apply that metaphor appropriately. Because it’s such an intricate game, chess — like football — can’t be approached from a strictly formulaic mindset.

Solving a Rubik’s Cube is rather easy once you become acquainted with the various algorithms that produce the desired result. Regardless of the starting position with a Rubik’s Cube, if you know the step-by-step process to gradually solve the puzzle, you’ll get a finished cube rather quickly. That’s not the case with chess. Because there is no way to determine how the opponent will respond with their turn, a winning strategy requires a clear plan of attack and a path to achieve it. However, that plan of attack must be adaptable if the opponent makes a move that compromises the strategy. And that’s where it’s easy to tell a grandmaster from a novice. It’s far less about having a plan than about having multiple ways to achieve it.

Each game of chess can be divided into three main phases — the beginning (where theory is prevalent), the middlegame (where theory is no longer applicable) and the endgame (where one or both players begin to leverage the position to execute a decisive attack). And though the beginning and middlegame are crucial in establishing an advantage over the opponent, minor mistakes in those two phases of the game can be overcome with an excellent endgame attack.

You now see where I’m headed with this, don’t you?

Yes, in one sense, there’s a perceptible analogy to the Sooners’ game-winning drive yesterday, in which Dillon Gabriel singlehandedly erased the memory of a futility-marred second half for the Oklahoma offense. But in a broader sense, what’s impressed me about the Sooners thus far in 2023 is the variety of ways in which they’ve demonstrated an ability to win a football game. The best chess grandmasters in the world are capable of winning with aggression. They’re capable of winning with patience, of lying low until the other players errs and capitalizing on the miscue. And they’re capable of engaging in a riveting battle with a player of equal intellect, going blow-for-blow on the razor’s edge. Such a battle is generally won or lost with sheer determination.

This team is no longer a one-trick pony like Lincoln Riley’s Sooners of yesteryear. They can beat you at whatever game you want to play.

They boat-raced an overmatched Arkansas State team, and did likewise against Tulsa. They gradually imposed their will against SMU and battered the resilient Mustangs into submission down the stretch. They stifled Cincinnati with a slow-burn, defense-forward flair, and then they went full-throttle and raced away from Iowa State behind a high-octane passing attack.

Then, faced with their toughest challenge to date, the Sooners did exactly what a chess grandmaster does: they slowly improved their position by leveraging a series of small mistakes from the opponent, then unleashed a blitzkrieg when the endgame arrived.

Texas didn’t make things easy on Oklahoma. There was give and take between the two teams over 60 glorious minutes of football at the Cotton Bowl. The Sooners weren’t perfect, but no team is perfect, just as no grandmaster is impervious to mistakes. The mark of a grandmaster is the ability to effortlessly render a mistake insignificant with a series of brilliant moves. They’re mentally rugged enough to move past a mistake, and they’re skilled enough to make up for it. And that’s what Oklahoma has done time and again in 2023. Be it a series of penalties against SMU, a couple uncharacteristic coverage busts against Iowa State or an extended offensive funk against Texas, the Sooners have consistently buried their mistakes.

And when that type of pattern emerges for a football team, the championship fantasies begin to crystallize. After Saturday, that’s happening in a hurry for Oklahoma.

But we’ll come back around to that. In the meantime, what would this column be if I didn’t start off with some critique?

— Despite the climactic win and despite the 6-0 start, the Sooners absolutely suck in one area, and I’m honestly shocked it hasn’t cost them more than it has thus far. You all know where this is going. Five minutes into the football game, Quinn Ewers had already thrown two interceptions, and yet the score was 7-7 solely because Oklahoma couldn’t get a punt off. Josh Plaster had his first boot of the day blocked, and Malik Muhammad corralled the ball in the end zone for a Longhorn touchdown. Texas had no business being square on the scoreboard with the Sooners, and yet because of special teams, it was even at 7. That wasn’t the end of the Sooners’ struggles in the kicking game, though. Zach Schmit inexplicably missed a 45-yard field goal short — and it wasn’t a crossbar-scraper, either. The kick was at least five yards shy of the goalpost. The two punts that Plaster did manage to get off were ugly and low, and though one of them fortuitously bounced some 50 yards, it would hardly have traveled 30 had it been fair-caught. Collectively, kicking and punting is not just a weakness, but a true liability for Oklahoma right now.

— I’m pissed at Ethan Downs haters, and I’ve been pissed at them for years now. But as I watched Downs raise a ruckus off the edge Saturday and pace the Sooners with two sacks, I found myself a little more pissed than usual. If I could have possibly knocked Downs on anything, it’s that over his first two and a half years at Oklahoma, he hadn’t been visibly emotional enough on the football field. Granted, that’s just his nature; his competitiveness doesn’t typically manifest itself outwardly. But what did he do after each of his two sacks? He stood up and roared at Quinn Ewers. Much as there is little left for Dillon Gabriel’s haters to cling to, Ethan Downs’ detractors are running low on bones to pick. Thus, it’s my hope they shut up for good after this past weekend.

— Look, Dillon Gabriel was awesome with his legs (more on that in just a second). But once again, the Sooners struggled to establish the traditional run with their backs. Tawee Walker got the majority of the carries, but he notched just 46 yards on 15 totes. Is this an immediate, glaring issue? No, because the Sooners probably aren’t going to need a bell-cow running back to get past their next six opponents. But gosh, man, wouldn’t it be nice to have a back — ANY back — that inspires legitimate confidence? It’s going to become a necessity at some point if Oklahoma is to compete for a title — and yes, that’s a legitimate conversation at this point. The Sooners are No. 5 in this week’s AP poll. They own what might be the most impressive win in the country right now. They control their own destiny. The only thing that’s going to stop them, at least over the next six games, is themselves.

— There will be no attempt to bury the lede here. Dillon Gabriel is the hero of this football game, and deservedly so. The fifth-year senior had one shot to write his name in the annals of this rivalry’s lore, as this was always destined to be the only game he ever started at the Cotton Bowl. With 1:17 to play, he’d already played a pretty fantastic football game. But the Sooners needed one more drive to win, and in that moment, everything that happened over the first 58 minutes and 43 seconds became irrelevant. He could have thrown five touchdowns or five interceptions to that point; none of it mattered anymore. All that mattered was that the Sooners needed at least three points, and ideally seven. The clinical precision with which he attacked that final drive is the essence of Island Chill. The left-handed Hawaiian has a reputation as a cool customer in tense situations, and in the midst of what was arguably the biggest drive of his football life, he was nails. When time expired at the Cotton Bowl, Gabriel had thrown for 285 yards on 23-of-38 passing, rushed for 113 more yards on 14 carries, and accounted for two touchdowns. He’s the first Sooner in history to throw for 250-plus and rush for 100-plus against Texas. Kyler Murray never did it; Jalen Hurts never did it; Baker Mayfield and Jamelle Holieway and Jack Mildren never did it. If the wheels fall off the wagon tomorrow, Dillon Gabriel will always be remembered as the guy that put Texas on ice like a stone cold assassin the year after 49-0.

— When was the last time the Oklahoma defense stood its ground when an opponent had first-and-goal at the 1? I would hazard a guess that it’s been many years. The Sooners’ goal-line stand in the early stages of the fourth quarter might be the seminal moment of the Venables era for this defense. Kip Lewis shot a gap and blew up a run play, Dasan McCullough made a couple of tough sticks, and then Billy Bowman delivered the kill shot with an unbelievably precise hit on Xavier Worthy to deny him the goal line. The physical plays that the Sooners made were impressive in their own right, but perhaps more impressive is the mental resolve that such a stand demands. The Sooners of years past would simply have folded, resigned themselves to the belief that a scoring play was inevitable, and surrendered the touchdown. When their backs butted up against the wall, this team snapped back like cornered dogs. And that’s what it takes to win against an opponent that has the level of talent that Texas possesses. Winning games starts with winning possessions, and the Sooners won a lot of possessions Saturday. But given the circumstances and the palpable momentum at that point, arguably no such win was bigger than the goal-line stand.

— T’Vondre Sweat could have been an NFL draft pick this past year. He elected to return to school instead, and he’ll likely have better draft stock this coming April. He’s a 6-foot-4, 362-pound mammoth of a defensive tackle who is unquestionably among the most disruptive linemen in the Big 12. And yet he found himself thoroughly neutralized on Saturday by a true freshman. Cayden Green entered the game on the Sooners’ third drive in relief of Troy Everett, and over the next 55 minutes of football, Green showed every iota of the physicality and power that made him a top-100 recruit in the 2023 cycle. Peyton Bowen has arrived ahead of schedule, and so has PJ Adebawore. But the likes of Green, Jackson Arnold, Makari Vickers and Sammy Omosigho didn’t need to arrive ahead of schedule barring catastrophe. The fact that Green found himself playing the vast majority of the Red River Shootout at left guard — let alone manhandling a future millionaire — stands as one of the most impressive accomplishments of the season for any of the Sooners’ true freshmen. Bill Bedenbaugh doesn’t play his youngsters unless they’re too dang good to be ignored. The last freshman to force Bedenbaugh’s hand in that regard was a guy named Anton Harrison. And there’s no two ways about it: Green did force Bedenbaugh’s hand. Savion Byrd was healthy and Everett was healthy. Yet Bedenbaugh legitimately felt as though Green gave the Sooners the best chance to win, and win they did.

In this new addition to the column, Parker’s father, a known OU football doomer and Uncle Rico-esque former high school quarterback, weighs in on behalf of the fans who tend towards a nonconformist perspective on the Sooners.

For one glorious moment in time, Doomer Dad is unable to doom: I don’t even have any doomer comments today… That was the game I wanted to see OU play… That 4-down stand on the goal line was the coming out party for the BV defense… That was OU football… There were still bad moments… The decision to go for it on 4th down with a 7 point lead was a terrible decision… And Dillon missed some key throws… But we got it done when it mattered… And Peyton Bowen and Nic Anderson showed up in some big moments

Grom_: does Troy Everett see another meaningful snap for the sooners this year?

He might see action at right guard. But I said it in the postgame podcast and I stand by it: nobody but Cayden Green should play left guard for the remainder of the season. His performance yesterday at the Cotton Bowl was the offensive line equivalent of 2019 Ceedee Lamb or 2004 Adrian Peterson. To do what he did — as a true freshman, no less — should one thousand percent ensure that he runs with the first team from here on out. That’s no knock on Everett or Savion Byrd or anyone else. But Cayden Green was a football virtuoso in the trenches on Saturday. And that ought to be rewarded.

BMini: Who surprised you the most against Texas?

If you know me and have read my work, you know I am not at all surprised to have seen Dillon Gabriel perform the way he did, nor am I surprised to have seen Green stonewalling a future NFL trench warrior all day long. If there was one player that pleasantly surprised me with his performance, I’d actually have to say it was Da’Jon Terry. For the first time all year, we saw the Tennessee transfer create some legit havoc up front, both in defense of the run and in the pass rush. He logged a sack and a half Saturday, contributing mightily to what was an outstanding effort by the Oklahoma front four to keep Quinn Ewers under duress.

Pearljammer10: After Cincinnati I asked is it ok to start being critical of DG. After yesterday I give him all the credit. He was nails. I didn’t actually have a question. Just wanted to throw that out there.

Your non-question is accepted and acknowledged, and there are dozens of other Internet denizens that ought to take a cue from your honesty and humility in giving Gabriel his due. He had one minute and seventeen seconds to define his legacy (at least to this point) as an Oklahoma Sooner, and not only did he deliver, but he did it with fifteen seconds to spare. We had yet to see an instance in which the game was objectively and unambiguously in Dillon Gabriel’s hands, an instance in which the outcome would be dictated by his ability to string together a scoring drive. He passed his stiffest test to date with flying colors.

Sooners90: More of a statement then a question but through 6 games the most points scored on the defense is 23 points. Pretty wild. Can’t count the blocked punt on the defensive

That is 100 percent true, and feeds into an observation that we’ve made time and again with this defense: they’ll bend at times, but they’re hard to break. The goal-line stand is the most glaring specific evidence of that phenomenon Saturday. On a broader scale, though, the Sooners surrendered 527 total yards and yet Texas only mustered two touchdown drives. The Longhorns had three red-zone drives that resulted in a grand total of three points. This defense isn’t the Steel Curtain, but their men don’t give up the ship without a hell of a fight. Perhaps most accurately, they’re like Weeble Wobbles. You all remember Weeble Wobbles, right? They’ll wobble, but they won’t fall down.

AFsoonerZ: 1. What will the O-line look like after the bye week? 2. Was that the worst OU special teams performance in an OU/TX game? 3. What player NOT playing surprised you the most?

You asked your questions sequentially and I will answer sequentially.

1) I naturally expect that Walter Rouse (LT), Tyler Guyton (RT) and Andrew Raym (C) retain their starting jobs. But with McKade Mettauer sidelined and Troy Everett benched, I think Cayden Green stays at left guard and Caleb Shaffer is your starting right guard until further notice.

2) Yes, at least to my recollection, it doesn’t get much worse than that. Obviously the missed field goal and the blocked punt are the two miscues that stick out the most, but let’s not forget that Jaquaize Pettaway took a reverse on an early kickoff and set the Sooners up near midfield, only to see his brilliant return wiped out because Jalil Farooq lateraled the ball forward. Had Oklahoma lost the game Saturday, I imagine plenty of the vitriol would have been directed at the Sooners’ special teams play.

3) I figured we would see Brenen Thompson at some point in this game, but the Sooners chose not to deploy their speedy transfer wideout for any downfield shots. Especially given that Thompson played his freshman year at Texas in 2022, seeing him make a big play or two in this football game for Oklahoma would have been fun.

roanokesooner: When are we gonna get to see Barnes? Is it really a health thing? Hopefully the bye week will give him time to heal

I’ve given up on trying to figure out what’s going on with Jovantae Barnes. Brent Venables called the situation “funky” last week, and there’s perhaps no better word to describe the state of affairs for the sophomore back. He warms up in full every week, looks completely uninhibited and then doesn’t play. He hasn’t recorded a carry since Oklahoma went to Tulsa back on Sept. 16. However, I will say this about Barnes: he’s the ultimate team guy. When Tawee Walker punched in his pair of short touchdown runs yesterday, Barnes was the first man to greet Walker on the sideline on both occasions.

foopuhh: Not really a question, but someone's gotta give serious props to Walter Rouse on that game winning touchdown pass to Nic Anderson. Dude was engaged in a block with one dude with another coming and stuck his arm out there and slowed him down enough for Dillon to make the throw. GROWN. MAN. PLAY.

Y’all are taking a lot of creative license with the “question” framework here, but this observation in particular is spot-on. Without Rouse’s awareness of the blitz off the edge, his lightning-quick reaction and his strength in staving off the charge from the two Longhorn rushers, Gabriel probably doesn’t get that pass off. With no timeouts, the Sooners would have had to rush to the line of scrimmage and clock the ball, then set up for a field goal to force overtime. And Lord knows what would have happened if this game had gone to overtime.

dskou: I saw yesterday that texas is for real and not just hype. When they got into a rhythm, they were hard to stop. Lebby had a good formula for neutralizing ut's pass rush with quick passes and the o-line gained a lot of confidence. OU left a lot on the field but still got the W. I thought OU has a higher ceiling than ut. Considering there's a good chance they meet in the CCG, which team do you think will improve more by then?

With an obvious caveat here, let’s give the man some deserved recognition. After his two first-quarter interceptions, Quinn Ewers was pretty brilliant. He completed 31 of 37 passes for 346 yards and a touchdown, consistently finding holes in zones and delivering on-target balls to his receivers in space. I would actually dispute your claim that OU has a higher ceiling than Texas, because the Longhorns shot themselves in the foot over and over Saturday and still had a shot to win the game in the final minutes. What I saw from Texas yesterday leads me to believe that they are absolutely a team with a CFP ceiling, but also that they’ll be their own biggest enemy. Mistakes will doom even the most talented of football teams, and Texas made far too many of them. Ewers himself had three turnovers. I maintain that on paper, Texas has more talent than Oklahoma. That might not be a popular take on this forum, but I’ll stand by it. The Sooners won the game yesterday because they minimized mistakes and because they showed more heart. That’s one of the many marks of a championship program, and it’s why I believe that although Texas might be more talented, Oklahoma is better positioned to compete for a title in 2023.

kelleydittmeyer: Can you compile a complete list of the ridiculous, "OU doesn't stand a chance" narrative from media from the previous week? Klatt, Ketch, etc. I am a man of many young children and I don't have many great joys in life but I look forward to being as petty as possible towards the talking heads that completely dismissed BV and this team.

I would like to issue a public apology to Geoff Ketchum, because I publicly poked fun at a cold take of his on Saturday afternoon. Despite our past squabbles, we are colleagues on the Rivals network and I should not have engaged in friendly fire. I was a bad teammate and that is on me. But if you’re looking for a gold mine of Declarations That Aged Like Milk from other members of the media, I would refer you to anything Brandon Walker and/or Ian Boyd has said about Oklahoma for the last several months. Their effort to discredit the Sooners verges on a religious crusade.

Boomsoon22: How does it feel to be a part of a joyous board? One of love and happiness? Even if its only for 2 weeks, how are you feeling personally about that ass whoopin and the bliss it brings to the board?

From an occupational perspective, there is nothing that brings me as much joy as a board devoid of complaining and negativity. My family used to vacation periodically in St. Augustine, Florida, and one of our favorite stops in town was an ornate Greek Orthodox shrine. Its tranquility is virtually unparalleled, as the solemn silence within is padded by soft and reverent Gregorian chants. Perusing the board after an enormously significant victory brings me a strikingly similar sense of peace.

Dillon Gabriel, on the growing Heisman hype: “I’ll say this, it’s not my main focus. I’m focused on heading into this bye week and getting better, watching the tape and finding ways to get better, and then, shoot, take it one week at a time. As you do that, the rest will take care of itself. I’m a big believer in what we’re all about, so just take it one week at a time and the rest will take care of itself.”

Through six games, Gabriel has accounted for 21 total touchdowns to just three turnovers. He’s connecting on 72 percent of his passes and is third in the nation in QBR. Meanwhile, Oklahoma is knocking on the door of the national top five in total offense, at an average of just over 500 yards per game. And though Caleb Williams and Michael Penix look like they’re ahead of the pack in the Heisman race for now, there’s still a half-season of football to be played. Tua Tagovailoa was the runaway favorite halfway through the 2018 campaign, but by season’s end, Kyler Murray had overtaken him. There’s plenty of precedent for a late charge into legitimate Heisman contention. And if he’s the prolific quarterback of a 12-1 or 13-0 football team in December, he’s at the very least going to give Oklahoma a representative in New York City for the first time since 2019.

Ted Roof, on what kind of scheming goes into a goal-line stand: ““It’s called lining up and trying to whoop the man in front of you.”

As an avid proponent of sarcasm, I always crack a smile when I hear a response like this. YEAH WE AIN’T DOING NOTHING BUT HITTIN’ A FOOL IN THE MOUTH, SON. And Papa Roof knows a thing or two about whooping the man in front of you. That man was an all-conference linebacker in his day. For the first time in a long time, we’re actually seeing that type of tenacity manifested on the gridiron at Oklahoma. The Sooners’ defensive front didn’t just whoop the man in front of them on that goal-in stand; they did it with regularity over the course of the entire football game.

Jaren Kanak, on his confidence in Dillon Gabriel: “We knew he was going to go down and do that. We’re watching it happen, enjoying the moment. Trying to soak it all in. Like, all right, he’s about to go down and score and we’re going to win this, baby.”

I mentioned it Friday, but in speaking with numerous program sources leading up to the game, this team simply had a quiet and unshakable confidence as they prepared for Texas. It's what led me to switch my pick from Texas early in the week to Oklahoma. It wasn’t the arrogant “we’re better than them” attitude that has been part and parcel of the Oklahoma identity for the last few years. It was a very straightforward, very determined “we’re going to win” sentiment. I don’t know if that necessary starts with Dillon Gabriel, but it’s pretty clear that Gabriel personifies that demeanor. And it’s contagious.

Nic Anderson, on the amount of motivation the Sooners carried with them into this game: “If we're being for real, Coach Schmitty made us do 49 med balls all summer. He made sure to remind us every single workout exactly why we were doing what we were doing. And I feel like that played a huge part in what we did today.”

And there you have it. We all had our suspicions about the “it’s just another game” narrative that the Oklahoma coaches and players were pushing in the days before the game, but that’s tangible evidence that EVERYONE had this date circled on the calendar. Hell, it didn’t sound like they had a choice. When the Big Dawg has you doing forty-nine reps of anything, you’re not soon going to forget why.

Brent Venables, on how important this game was after the 2022 loss to Texas: “This was an important one. Last year was an embarrassment. My hands are all over that. And the players that played for us last year, they were hurt from that too, and ultimately my job as leader is to get the best out of them. I did a very poor job of that. Those are things that you don’t get bitter from, you get better. I’ve told the team several times I’ve been on my knees plenty in this profession.”

Danny Stutsman, you’re welcome to handle this one.

— I regularly profess my long-held belief that Iowa would be a perennial playoff contender with virtually anyone but Kirk Ferentz’s kid calling the plays. In the year of our Lord 2023, the Hawkeyes are doing their absolute darnedest to make my argument fully ironclad. They’re currently operating with a backup quarterback, and they’re dead last in the FBS in total offense through six games. And yet they’re 5-1. They scored a single offensive touchdown in a win over Iowa State, then pulled the same feat in a win over Michigan State. Should they defeat Wisconsin this coming weekend, the Hawkeyes will be in sole possession of first place in the Big Ten West. I am not sure which is more difficult to fathom: the fact that Iowa makes a weekly rhythm of winning the ugliest football games imaginable, or that Kirk Ferentz continues to sacrifice a championship-caliber defense on the altar of nepotism.

— For the moment, Colorado is done being a thing in the news cycle, which is somewhat refreshing. There is no reason to dislike Deion Sanders as a person and he’s objectively good for the game, but the amount of smack talk and hype that regularly pours forth from a program that MIGHT end up being bowl eligible does become exhausting at a certain point. Apparently unwilling to let the Buffaloes go a full week without trending on Twitter, Shedeur Sanders led Colorado to a three-point road win over Arizona State — yes, 1-5 Arizona State — and immediately jogged over to the ASU student section to flaunt the expensive watch on his wrist and gloat. Deion has continually emphasized to his team that there is a Colorado vs. The World narrative at play, but every time one of his children talks crap (whether it’s Deion Jr. on Twitter or Shedeur and Shilo on the gridiron), it does beg the question: is the world out to get them, or are they out to pick a fight with the world?

— Here’s a free money tip, with no strings or subscriptions attached: just bet on USC’s opponent to cover the spread. There is literally no safer bet in college football. The Trojans are 6-0 in the win-loss column and 0-6 against the spread, the latest testament to Alex Grinch’s incompetence coming in the form of a 43-41 triple-OT squeaker over a mediocre Arizona team. The Wildcats entered as 21-point underdogs, in case you were curious. As far as football is concerned, Lincoln Riley is a man of many rock-solid and stringent principles (defense is a luxury and not a necessity, the media is part of the deep state, etc.), and one such principle is that special teams do not matter enough to justify employing any sort of special teams coach or coordinator. Guess why the game went to overtime in the first place? Because of a missed field-goal attempt that featured roughly the same sequence of hilariously ill-fated events that you’d expect from the kicking unit at an elementary school. Riley has mastered one particular art form, though: he knows exactly how to make a fanbase feel utterly miserable despite a 6-0 start from their team.

Have you ever played NCAA Football on any video game platform, whether modern or obsolete? If you answered “Yes” to this question, you apparently meet the initial requirements to coach football at the Power 5 level, because Mario Cristobal is making $8 million per year to let THIS happen on his program’s home turf. There was no nuance, ambiguity or wrinkle at play last night in Coral Gables. All that Tyler Van Dyke had to do was kneel down, and Miami was going to run out the clock and preserve a victory over Georgia Tech. There were less than 40 seconds on the game clock and the Yellow Jackets had no timeouts. If Van Dyke took a knee, the Hurricanes would not have had to snap the ball again. Instead, Van Dyke inexplicably received the directive to hand the ball off, and he dutifully obliged. Why he didn’t defy that order for the sake of logic and reason is beyond me, but that’s neither here nor there. Hurricane running back Don Chaney fumbled the ball, because the natural order of the universe does not allow unmitigated idiocy to go unpunished. But even so, after recovering the fumble, Georgia Tech had to go over 70 yards in 26 seconds with no timeouts.

Guess what, MF?

Haynes King (remember him?) immediately hit Malik Rutherford for 30 yards, then found Christian Leary streaking wide the hell open behind the Miami secondary for a 44-yard touchdown strike with one second on the clock. The Miami faithful in attendance immediately began throwing objects onto the field, which is frankly better than Cristobal deserves for a salad-brain blunder of that magnitude. In the immediate aftermath of Leary’s game-sealing touchdown, the broadcast cut to a Miami player on the bench clearly asking a teammate, “What the f*** are we doing?” That, folks, is the $80 million question. I imagine it takes a lot for Howard Schnellenberger to roll over in his grave, but last night might have done the trick.

Have an outstanding work week, folks, and we’ll talk again next Sunday.

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