EOU vs Montana St-Northern

Dear Coach Camp, Congratulations on the victory. Two of them to start the season. I especially want to applaud you for a nice game plan on Saturday. Other than some lack of execution plays, which are quite understandable, that was a pretty well-played game. Not sure if it was worth the $12 I paid to get in, but it was fun. Unlike last year, when I wanted to write to you often irritated with play calling, I loved the consistency on Saturday. A couple criticisms I do have would help the heart rates of the fans in the stands. It could have been a little easier win based on two second half field goal situations. 1. Up by seven points, facing a fourth and ten at the 15 yard line, you chose to go for the first down/touchdown. Next time that happens, please warn me so I can sit closer to the ambulance down by the beer garden. I understand that college coaches like to take gambles and that the kicker isn’t exactly David Akers and it was into a head wind, but come on! A 30-yarder to take a two score lead is a no-brainer. It would have done wonders for the kicker’s confidence to make it, about as much as it takes away confidence not being given the chance. Plus, there are much better odds of converting the 30-yard field goal than a fourth and ten. That field goal would have been gold considering that EOU ended up with the ball back 56 seconds to go in the game tied at 14. Instead of kneeling on the ball to run out the clock, we needed a quick scoring drive. I certainly praise you for a quick, well-orchestrated march into field goal range, even though the 37-yard field goal into a cross wind was comparably more difficult than the one you didn’t attempt in the third quarter. I am, to put it simply, a Mark David fan right now. 2. That final field goal situation. On a third down run, QB Pine slides down short of the first down with 20 seconds left. EOU immediately calls a timeout. No, more like, EOU immediately calls a timeout!?! I hope that was an on-the-field decision by a player to stop the game clock with 18 seconds. My only thought was, here we go again trying for another first down… I could understand Montana-Northern calling a timeout, if they had any left. I cannot understand not letting the clock wind down. Why not either win the game on the last play or go to overtime? Why give the other team three hail marys? All that said, those two situations were about my only complaints with the game. I like the defense, a lot. And the new running back is a decent replacement for Sampson, provided he can keep his helmet on. And as obscene as it may sound, I think I like Pine more than Ware. He scrambled well under pressure, and would have had an even better day if a few passes into the receiver’s hands had been held onto. There are some weapons to be sure. Good luck against Carroll again. And who am I to say? Maybe an unorthodox play call on a fourth down will be what it takes to win. daniel "kid" yoshida