re: 1st half punt with 14 seconds left....

You have to punt it there.

The mistake was trying to run the offense for a 2nd time after we had already turned it over and cheated death once.

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We was attempting to get out of half, but Ridley or Murphy ripped off a huge run. You see it all the time in football. Draw play, 10+ yard gain, timeout. Then the attempt to get in field goal range.

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This is an example of how dominoes fall in a game and the resulting weirdness that can ensue...it's also what makes us so addicted to the sport.

Remember we had just jumped a snake by intercepting Mallet in the end zone and the coaches were content to just run out the clock from our own 20. So they call a conservative running play to Ridley and he breaks it for 20 yards and now its first down on the 40 with enough time to get in FG range.

We start conserving time and throwing passes but ultimately end up with a 4th and 6 with 14 seconds left...a no brainer to punt. Then the announcers, along with our defensive staff apprently expected Arky to kneel on it from thier own 15. I mean why would they run a play and risk an interception return. Everyone knows you can't throw a hail mary from your own 15 right? It was such a remote possibility that our coaches didn't even bother to call a prevent defense, instead opting to run a normal set, fully expecting an end of the half kneel down. Of course Petrino, the offensive creature that he is, never wastes an offensive chance, did the unexpected...BOOM!


Hopefully lesson learned for our defensive coaches, always call for a prevent in that situation.

Just another example of how some seemingly innocent dominoes can fall in a game and least to disasterous or wonderful results, as the case may be.

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Am I the only one who was screaming wtf ?

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No, you weren't. I'm all for a specialized EOH/EOG play for that circumstance(i.e. tied or leading at the half, leading at the end of the game) with less than 20 seconds left. A Hail Mary or a draw from a 4 or 5(obviously QB) wide set is the right call there. A Hail Mary (if intercepted) is far less likely to be returned for a TD than a regular punt and will consume as much time as a regular punt and more time than a pooch punt that is fair caught.