[teejers1]

And I don't blame Shaw for West not throwing ball out of bounds, instead of falling down in bounds to keep clock rolling.  

Why not?

While I don't know that I blame Shaw in particular, I do blame the coaching and preparation of West. A QB in that situation has to know that unless there is a very clear path towards the sideline and a decent gain, one can simply not hold onto the ball and scramble. And its the coaching staff's job that their QBs know that.

The second issue is that was probably the best place to use the remaining TO. Maybe there would be another tackle inbounds without a first down, maybe not. But there is no reason that possible future scenario would take more time than this actual situation.

Where I agree in holding back on blame is that it wasn't the most egregious error ever and the execution of getting McKee in and the next play off was quite good. I do wonder why Oregon didn't take the chance to substitute and burn a little more clock.

1.  As BC noted, you can't guarantee that a kid will not lose his head/have a lapse when the Bright Lights go on; and 

2.  Real time - well, watching the DVR of the game last night - I had the exact same reaction when McKee trotted back on the field:  why didn't Oregon burn some clock with subs?  Not Cristobal & Co.'s finest game (massive understatement).

P.S.  To BC, yes, timeout burnage.  I don't mind running it somewhere in that sequence with a TO left, and believe it or not, I'm not a micro-second-guesser on every single play called . . . just ones that stand out as hard to defend.  I didn't mind the run call; just dubious that McKee going left is best option (and he possibly could have tossed it OOB when he saw he was not going anywhere).  But that brings up a question:  if McKee fakes handoff and boots left and is going to get drilled for a loss or no gain, can he just throw the ball past LOS OOB?  I know the rule on a drop back is that if you're outside the hashmarks the only requirement is that ball going out of bounds must cross the line of scrimmage.  But my gut tells me that would not apply in a running play where QB, outside the hashes, realizes there is nowhere to go and just tosses it OOB past the LOS.  But I don't know the rule on that situation and am too lazy to look it up.  Anyway, if that were legal, then the McKee boot left is even more defensible.

[teejers1]

And I don't blame Shaw for West not throwing ball out of bounds, instead of falling down in bounds to keep clock rolling.  

Why not?

While I don't know that I blame Shaw in particular, I do blame the coaching and preparation of West. A QB in that situation has to know that unless there is a very clear path towards the sideline and a decent gain, one can simply not hold onto the ball and scramble. And its the coaching staff's job that their QBs know that.

The second issue is that was probably the best place to use the remaining TO. Maybe there would be another tackle inbounds without a first down, maybe not. But there is no reason that possible future scenario would take more time than this actual situation.

Where I agree in holding back on blame is that it wasn't the most egregious error ever and the execution of getting McKee in and the next play off was quite good. I do wonder why Oregon didn't take the chance to substitute and burn a little more clock.

1.  As BC noted, you can't guarantee that a kid will not lose his head/have a lapse when the Bright Lights go on; and 

2.  Real time - well, watching the DVR of the game last night - I had the exact same reaction when McKee trotted back on the field:  why didn't Oregon burn some clock with subs?  Not Cristobal & Co.'s finest game (massive understatement).

P.S.  To BC, yes, timeout burnage.  I don't mind running it somewhere in that sequence with a TO left, and believe it or not, I'm not a micro-second-guesser on every single play called . . . just ones that stand out as hard to defend.  I didn't mind the run call; just dubious that McKee going left is best option (and he possibly could have tossed it OOB when he saw he was not going anywhere).  But that brings up a question:  if McKee fakes handoff and boots left and is going to get drilled for a loss or no gain, can he just throw the ball past LOS OOB?  I know the rule on a drop back is that if you're outside the hashmarks the only requirement is that ball going out of bounds must cross the line of scrimmage.  But my gut tells me that would not apply in a running play where QB, outside the hashes, realizes there is nowhere to go and just tosses it OOB past the LOS.  But I don't know the rule on that situation and am too lazy to look it up.  Anyway, if that were legal, then the McKee boot left is even more defensible.