Great game. Marshall victory – 49 to 45. Great offenses. Still, there are examples of poor clock management.

1. At 01:41, behind, Marshall completes a pass for less than a firstdown and takes 42 seconds to get the next play off.

2. At 00:46, now behind, Toledo throws for less than a firstdown and must use its last timeout.

3. With 00:34 left, Toledo can run four plays or, if a firstdown is made, five or six. With 00:30, Toledo has a firstdown. They throw for less than a firstdown and spike with their 2nd-down play. Now 00:11 is left. They throw incomplete and 00:07 is left, on 4th-down, and they get one final shot at the end zone. With routine clock management, they could have had at least one more play.

Minnesota 14 – Wisconsin 14, 2nd Quarter, 2002

Wisconsin has the ball on Minnesota’s 14 with 01:02 and two timeouts. The problem is to be able to use all of the downs that they earn by making firstdowns.

They run. The next snap is at 00:42. (Excellent!) They run again, to the 2, 1st-and-goal at 00:35. The next snap is at 00:23. (Poor.) Why? They probably do not practice clock offense with their goal line personnel. The players huddle. The coaches take too long getting the 1st-down play in. Everyone probably thinks that the stopped clock with a first down means more time but it does not.

Little gain. Timeout at 00:18, 2nd-and-goal. One timeout left, so they can run once.

Minnesota is penalized. Now, inches to go. Sneak. Short. Clock – 00:11, 3rd-and-inches. Timeout. None left. The “booth” thinks they may run, over the top or with an option. But a run would give them one chance to score. If they throw into the end zone, they give themselves two chances. If they think they can avoid a sack, and interception, or a holding call, they will throw.

They throw and miss. Clock: 00:07. Now they will run. The “booth” cannot understand why, if they were going to run on 4th-down, they didn’t run on 3rd-down.

They run and score.

The blunders in the booth show that thinking in situations that are intensified by the clock is very difficult.

Former Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator, Homer Smith, is an expert on clock management. For more on Clock Management and many other topics, visit his website http://www.homersmith.net.