Mike Leech may have a great mind when it comes to the offensive side of football, but he is a bozo when it comes to the fundamental parts, such as winning. With the ball in WSU's hand on the Stanford side of the 50 yard line, the lead, and four minutes remaining, he still had his team in "hurry up" mode and snapping the ball with 25 seconds left on the play clock. They even through a couple of passes, one which was incomplete and saved Stanford a timeout, and another which was a costly interception.
Even after failing to work the game clock and giving up the late interception, WSU still managed to hold Stanford to a field goal. Needing a field goal of their own, WSU's quarterback connected on a deep post route which put them in field goal position with a minute or so remaining. During this drive, on a third and short - real short, about a football's length - Leech still had his offense in shotgun formation with the running back about 8 yards from the line of scrimmage. He was stopped for a loss on the hand off which lead to the need of the amazing fourth down conversion by WSU's tough ass quarterback. Why not line up under center and do a sneak on third instead of putting that much pressure on your quarterback and offensive line, Mike Leech?
In the end, WSU's kicker, who was 5-5 on the night, unfortunately missed the winning field goal attempt. It should have never come down to needing a 43 yard field goal in the rain with time expiring. The "hurry up" mode should have downshifted a few gears at the four minute mark, allowing them to claim only their second win since 1941 against an AP Top 10 school.
Mike Leech, Gus Malzaln, and these other coaches who think they have an advantage in this fast-break type of football are only showing that they are not teachers of the game, not teachers of a winning strategy or fundamental football with clock management (which translates to time management when 95% of the players enter the workforce), but promoters of a strategy akin to today's societal behaviors where people take advantage of others and are not held responsible for their own failures. These kids will only attend college and play football once, and many of them will have their seasons shortened due to injury. These coaches of this kind exploit the talents of these kids and risk injury to them in an effort to glorify their coaching careers - to better their careers.
Do you think Mike Leech wants to remain at WSU? Do you think Gus Malzaln can chew his gum any faster? Maybe one of the silly signs being held up on Auburn's sideline should be a reminder to him to close his mouth while chewing. Even better, maybe an opposing team will hold a sign up on their sideline to remind him.
WSU did everything their coach asked of them last night. They let him live out his fantasy of fast-paced football through their pain, mistakes, and unsafe playing conditions. After loosing a 12-point lead, they battled back to go ahead by one. These young men did their jobs and played with heart. Mike Leech let them down. A good coach, such as David Shaw on the other sideline, would laugh at his method. The TV commentators did laugh.
With decisions such as Leech's, and this year's horrid pre-season polls that ultimately impact all teams for the rankings that will be released this week, a true NCAA Football champion will never be known. One will be crowned, sure, but the efforts of WSU, Memphis, Temple, Iowa, and others prove that the ranking system is nothing more than a lottery. Those at the top, get a chance to play while the others get to watch - just as Leech watched his team leave their hearts on the field last night in defeat because of his carefree coaching style.
