Your reaction when we kicked the FG down seven with 3:42 remaining

[561caneforever]

All of this...Go down with your best player....

Exactly. You don't take the ball out of Cam Ward's hands and give it to your Defense that didn't have one stop the entire second half.

 

[MiamiCanesFan77]

Thinking that “Take the FG/trust your garbage defense” maybe wasn’t the best idea…

 

[Torocane]

Was it the right decision? Depends on the team. A team with a solid defense, **** yeah it's the right decision. it was 4th and goal from the 9. There's no margin for error. You can't pick up a first down. It's TD or bust. You can't run the ball. So, it's passing TD or bust. So, yes normal teams kick it and get the 3 points, and then stop three consecutive run plays to get the ball back.

But our team? No, we should have went for it. With the ACC championship game on the line, Mario should have went for it. Put the ball in the hands of your best player (i.e., Cam), not in the hands of the worst part of your team (i.e., Guidry and defense).

Teams that have good defenses do what Mario did. They kick it. Mario trusted our defense, and that was the mistake.

The team was up 21-0 at the start of the 2nd quarter. We got outscored 42-17 after. We have the best QB in the nation. A running back (Martinez) that they couldn't stop. Like they literally couldn't stop him (10 carries for 84 yards). We didn't lose because of the decision to kick FG, we lost because we have to give 2 backs equal carries when it's obvious that 1 RB is having a way superior game than the other. Sam Brown dropped a HUGE 3rd down pass. Horton didn't even attempt to catch a slant. X fumbled and they returned it for a TD. George and Moten had two very bad, even fatal penalties. And of course, the defense is atrocious.

100% context is everything.
If you have a competent defense yes it the right decision....but....that's not us.
That was it...the last opportunity you were going to get and everybody knew it except Mario.

 

[Santana Sosa]

 

[brock]

Have known we couldn’t depend on the defense all year. Why put the game in their hands with all the stakes on the line?

 

[frostycane]

My thought was “ you really gonna trust this defense? Thats not a great idea.”

 

[Shooter McGavin]

What about blowing a 21-0 lead?

 

[sdaly12]

I told my boys we wouldn't get the ball back

amen up 21-0 and you think the D is going to get a stop......

 

[Shooter McGavin]

I was more ****ed at George being a ******* idiot again than that field goal

 

[CaneFanWNY]

I feel like the numbness to this **** finally set in today. Got to see Cam and X live atleast, so that was cool.

 

[sdaly12]

We needed to stop them again anyway, and it wasn't going to happen. Miami's defense is the worst I have seen.

i really think top to bottom they are poorly coached and 100 % lack of player development

 

[MiamiVice7]

Hortons drop and George penalty made it pretty likely that we weren’t scoring a TD. Our defense was just so bad all day you cant put your faith in that unit

Horton drop and George penalty are monumental choke jobs, no other way to put it.

Pressure bursts pipes.

 

[P-Tizzle]

Both George's and Moten's penalties were greater sins than Mario's decision to kick the FG

 

[TriStarCane]

Horton drop and George penalty are monumental choke jobs, no other way to put it.

Pressure bursts pipes.

Hortons drop was worse for me because the penalty is entirely subjective. He has a reputation but the other team is as openly taunting our guys all night and got nothing. For me I will always say that you have to make your plays when your number is called. It’s really that simple in close games. We were headed for an easy score before that happened and changed the whole picture

 

[jdmorgan76]

My reaction...


Cowardly way to end the season...

 

[bolomite21]

In the midst of getting pummeled on a 42-14 run by Syracuse, and you put the game in the hands of your defense. Great strategy. But but but but we need more talent, that’s why we lost.

 

[TwentySix]

I know everyone is saying with a good defense sure but not with this one, I actually feel the opposite.

We had zero chance of stopping them if we scored and they had three and a half needing a field goal to win it. At that point they have the entire playbook, and we clearly couldn’t stop them. At least by kicking we sent the defense out there knowing Syracuse was not going to put the ball in the air so we could just load up and stop the run and try to put the ball back in Cam’s hands with a minute and a half or so needing a touchdown to end it.

And it didn’t ******* matter. At all.

 

[CaneBear0207]

No, we needed a TD to TIE. If you want to win it in regulation, maybe go for 2. We did not need two scores there.

If we were inside the 5 or were really humming, I'd say go for it. But you want to prolong the game, and turning it over on downs there down 7 would have pretty much been a wrap.

 

[Meast21]

with 3 min and 3 TO's we weren't stopping Cuz from getting into FG range. D had to get a stop regardless and couldn't. Guidry has to go, that was an all-time epic bad defensive meltdown to blow that lead and cause us to lose acc champ/playoff shot

 

[ThomasM]

If we were inside the 5 or were really humming, I'd say go for it. But you want to prolong the game, and turning it over on downs there down 7 would have pretty much been a wrap.

It was a wrap when we kicked the ball back to them, while trailing.