I'm more or less stealing a local radio segment here in Dallas where they examine plays of the Cowboys game that may have been instrumental or detrimental to the team's success. These aren't the obvious pick 6 plays, or the Friend TD, but rather plays that may have led to that scoring opportunity, or caused a missed opportunity for the opponent. Or if we lose it could be the play that was the momentum shifter in favor of the opponent.
1 - FIU catches a bomb on completely blown coverage by Tyler Green with 12:18 left in the 2nd. This leads to the FIU TD. We all recognize the perils of the secondary last year. But I was surprised Green wasn't tested more later in the game. He was turned around and at least 2 steps behind the receiver.
2 - With 2nd & 10 from the FIU 37 and 3:47 Lagow just had an incomplete pass deep bomb to Mitchell Paige. However, it's the next play that is a key play. Gest fumbles and Wes Martin recovers. However, it was Martin's poor block that allowed his defender to cause the fumble. This led to 3rd and 13, which most of the time is not manageable, but also takes away field goal position.
3 - Facing 3rd & 10 from the FIU 22 and about 3:00 left in the 3rd, IU gets a false start penalty. This pushes them back to they 27 of FIU. The next play is a low snap to Lagow and a screen to Devonte Williams. Due to the snap the play takes just a shade too long and Williams slips on a cut he may not have had to make if the timing was better. This leads to the missed field with Paige scrambling. Additionally, had it just been 3rd and 10 the play call is likely to be one that strives for the first down and not one that is to just try and gain positive yardage to improve field goal chances.
4 - With 1st and goal from the IU 8 yard line and 1:10 left in the 3rd, FIU commits a false start penalty and pushes them back to the 13 yard line. This makes scoring a TD exponentially harder in 3 downs before a FG. FIU settles for a field goal to go up 13-12. Not scoring a TD here is a huge boost to the defense and puts way less pressure on the offense for the remainder of the game.
5 - With 14 minutes remaining in the game Lagow completes a pass to Paige across the middle that goes for 28 yards. This puts IU in field goal range at the FIU 32, which would have been enough to win this game. Ultimately just a couple of plays later Lagow to Friend for 21 yards for the game winner. Credit is due to the O Line on this play. Lagow had all day and no danger of being hit on this play. It allowed Paige to get separation and Lagow throws a beauty while Paige is in stride.
It's impossible to say how this game unfolds if one or all of these plays have a different outcome but they certainly were a factor on the actual outcome. The point of this is to show that beyond scoring or impact plays (INT, Safety, etc.) there are certain plays that can greatly impact the outcome of the game. There may be others and you may disagree with some of the above but they were important plays none the less.
1 - FIU catches a bomb on completely blown coverage by Tyler Green with 12:18 left in the 2nd. This leads to the FIU TD. We all recognize the perils of the secondary last year. But I was surprised Green wasn't tested more later in the game. He was turned around and at least 2 steps behind the receiver.
2 - With 2nd & 10 from the FIU 37 and 3:47 Lagow just had an incomplete pass deep bomb to Mitchell Paige. However, it's the next play that is a key play. Gest fumbles and Wes Martin recovers. However, it was Martin's poor block that allowed his defender to cause the fumble. This led to 3rd and 13, which most of the time is not manageable, but also takes away field goal position.
3 - Facing 3rd & 10 from the FIU 22 and about 3:00 left in the 3rd, IU gets a false start penalty. This pushes them back to they 27 of FIU. The next play is a low snap to Lagow and a screen to Devonte Williams. Due to the snap the play takes just a shade too long and Williams slips on a cut he may not have had to make if the timing was better. This leads to the missed field with Paige scrambling. Additionally, had it just been 3rd and 10 the play call is likely to be one that strives for the first down and not one that is to just try and gain positive yardage to improve field goal chances.
4 - With 1st and goal from the IU 8 yard line and 1:10 left in the 3rd, FIU commits a false start penalty and pushes them back to the 13 yard line. This makes scoring a TD exponentially harder in 3 downs before a FG. FIU settles for a field goal to go up 13-12. Not scoring a TD here is a huge boost to the defense and puts way less pressure on the offense for the remainder of the game.
5 - With 14 minutes remaining in the game Lagow completes a pass to Paige across the middle that goes for 28 yards. This puts IU in field goal range at the FIU 32, which would have been enough to win this game. Ultimately just a couple of plays later Lagow to Friend for 21 yards for the game winner. Credit is due to the O Line on this play. Lagow had all day and no danger of being hit on this play. It allowed Paige to get separation and Lagow throws a beauty while Paige is in stride.
It's impossible to say how this game unfolds if one or all of these plays have a different outcome but they certainly were a factor on the actual outcome. The point of this is to show that beyond scoring or impact plays (INT, Safety, etc.) there are certain plays that can greatly impact the outcome of the game. There may be others and you may disagree with some of the above but they were important plays none the less.
