Luck Would Have It
By Frank Luna
Lots of talk about some questionable play calling in the final moments of the Fiesta Bowl Monday between Stanford and Oklahoma State. It seems some people feel Stanford should have gone for a touchdown in the final minute instead of settling for a short field goal from their shaky freshman kicker. Of course, in hindsight, this would seem a no brainer. Keep the ball in the hands of the best player on the team and allow Andrew Luck at least a couple of shots at the end zone. The Cowboy defense was certainly reeling from Stanford's offensive machine and Luck had the hot hand. But here's something to think about. As a coach, if you were given the choice of kicking a short field goal from the 20 yard line to win the Fiesta Bowl or risk a fumble, a sack or penalty to take you out of field goal range, I think most college coaches would pick the kick. Stanford head coach David Shaw played the odds and picked the highly recruited Jordan Williamson to kick them to the promise land rather than face a stiffening defense bent on causing a turnover. The only problem with Shaw's choice was that he probably should have had Luck kick the field goal. Why not? He did everything else.
