[Goose]

On luck… the fumble that McGill recovered rolled about 15 yards from the spot it was fumbled.  “Good luck” that we recovered it.  Bad luck that the recovery cost 15 yards.  Given that the subsequent Stanford drive stalled at the ND 38, it is not invonceivable that “all else being equal” (and of course, it never is) the roll cost us 3 points.

BC

Why stop there? Since the ball was basically knocked out of the runner's grasp, it could have gone towards the ND end zone and we could have recovered it at the 2 :-). Obviously, every play's outcome affects subsequent plays. If one "lucky" break hadn't happened, there is no way to know if the subsequent play with another "lucky" event would even exist. Many things about football are non-deterministic. Trying to describe some events as deterministic and other events as "luck" is pointless. They can't be separated.

[Goose]

On luck… the fumble that McGill recovered rolled about 15 yards from the spot it was fumbled.  “Good luck” that we recovered it.  Bad luck that the recovery cost 15 yards.  Given that the subsequent Stanford drive stalled at the ND 38, it is not invonceivable that “all else being equal” (and of course, it never is) the roll cost us 3 points.

BC

Why stop there? Since the ball was basically knocked out of the runner's grasp, it could have gone towards the ND end zone and we could have recovered it at the 2 :-). Obviously, every play's outcome affects subsequent plays. If one "lucky" break hadn't happened, there is no way to know if the subsequent play with another "lucky" event would even exist. Many things about football are non-deterministic. Trying to describe some events as deterministic and other events as "luck" is pointless. They can't be separated.