[teejers1]

Another interesting tidbit from this game is that before Riccitelli's quadruple doink, Middle Tennessee had missed its own field goal attempt in its possession of the first overtime. Rather than try to score a touchdown or at least setup a more manageable field goal for his kicker, Bloomgren ran the ball straight into the line three consecutive times. The result: +1 yard, -1 yard, -2 yards, missed 45 yd. FG. For good measure, he repeated the strategy with straight runs to open the second overtime. The result: +4 yards, +2 yards, +1 yard, false start penalty, blocked 40 yd. FG. Meanwhile, his quarterback, while no Andrew Luck, didn't throw a single pass in either overtime after throwing for four touchdowns in regulation. Apparently, Bloom learned nothing from the Fiesta Bowl either.

Your recap brings to mind a Big Game at Cal where on the first OT possession Cal failed to score.  Stanford on first down ran up the gut with RB following FB block; on second down, in similar formation, Stanford faked the handoff and then threw over the top to a wide open FB (maybe it was single-back) in the end zone.  TD; ball game; and Cal loses yet another Big Game.  It was a brilliant call, and it sounds like Bloom could have tried it.

[teejers1]

Another interesting tidbit from this game is that before Riccitelli's quadruple doink, Middle Tennessee had missed its own field goal attempt in its possession of the first overtime. Rather than try to score a touchdown or at least setup a more manageable field goal for his kicker, Bloomgren ran the ball straight into the line three consecutive times. The result: +1 yard, -1 yard, -2 yards, missed 45 yd. FG. For good measure, he repeated the strategy with straight runs to open the second overtime. The result: +4 yards, +2 yards, +1 yard, false start penalty, blocked 40 yd. FG. Meanwhile, his quarterback, while no Andrew Luck, didn't throw a single pass in either overtime after throwing for four touchdowns in regulation. Apparently, Bloom learned nothing from the Fiesta Bowl either.

Your recap brings to mind a Big Game at Cal where on the first OT possession Cal failed to score.  Stanford on first down ran up the gut with RB following FB block; on second down, in similar formation, Stanford faked the handoff and then threw over the top to a wide open FB (maybe it was single-back) in the end zone.  TD; ball game; and Cal loses yet another Big Game.  It was a brilliant call, and it sounds like Bloom could have tried it.