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[QUOTE="RF2044, post: 732113, member: 40"]
And yet, the decision to punt accomplished exactly what it was supposed to. We got the ball back in approximately the same area of the field, with 4 plays to pick up a first down instead of 1 to pick up 7. We used our timeouts to minimize the time that went off of the clock, and had 2 minutes to go half the field.
 
You're right--if Penn State had gotten a first down, then they would have been able to run the clock down close to zero.  Or maybe they would have fumbled trying to run the ball.  Nobody knows--because the game wouldn't have played out the way it did, and the transitive property doesn't apply.
 
What I do know is that if we'd gone for it and not picked up the first, then Penn State [U]at minimum[/U] would have been able to punt us down deep into our territory and forced us to go 80 or more yards.  With last year's offense, going for it there would have been a no brainer because the coaches would have been confident in our ability to [1] move the ball to pick up the yardage, and [2] execute a play that would pick up the yardage.  But I have a difficult time understanding how anyone might have watched our offensive performance yesterday and been confident about our ability to pick up that first down.
 
It was a calculated gamble, and it paid off. Christ, every play call has an element of risk--people are acting like there is only one absolute right approach regardless of game situation, and ignoring all relevant contextual factors that informed that decision.
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