Prime Time Goes Awry In Boulder

--Does anybody really know what time it is?

--Does anybody really care....about time?

--You know I can't imagine why

--We've all got time enough to cry. (Lyrics- Chicago-1969)

Georgia Tech topped Colorado 27-20 last week in Boulder in tbe season opener for both teams. Tech came back from a rough start to pull ahead in the second quarter, and from there the two teams traded scores ,with Tech QB Haynes King scoring the go- ahead touchdown on a 45 yard run with 1:07 to go in the game.

Following same, the Jackets kicked off to Colorado, earning a touchback to start the Buffaloes on their own 2t, still with those 67 seconds to go, and with two timeouts left.

That's where the fun began. Colorado failed to score, and coach Deion Sanders later caught criticism for his clock management– or lack thereof--over that last possession, as he declined to use either of his last two timeouts. The game ended as a 27-20 Georgia Tech win, the ball parked at midfield with no time remaining.

Immediately post-game, Sanders was asked why he had not used the timeouts. He got a little chippy with his reply, explaining that he wasn't going to use them ".. just so you guys ( media) don't ask me why I didn't use them."

A few days later, that same question continued to hound Sanders and he re- addressed it Thursday in Boulder with a play -by -play explanation of his thinking.

( courtesy Genius sports)

In a conversation published by Buffaloes Wire, Sanders reviewed the sequence, repeatedly asking input along the way.

" Alright, first down, we throw a lateral pass, right? We lose four or five yards. Do you call a timeout there? No, we're right there. You don't call a timeout there. You got to go. You got to go. So , you're running tempo, right? So we gain, I guess, fourteen yards. You got third and one. Do you call a timeout there? Third and one. You get the first down, the clock stops. Correct? So we get the first down, the clock stopped. OK, scramble play, he ran out of bounds. The clock stopped. Ok, he ran out of bounds. Right? Now he throws the ball out the endzone. Clock stopped. Right? When was the time to call a timeout? I'm just trying to get the elephant out the room -you know what you want to see. I'm just trying to help you help me. Everything has its purpose, man" said Coach Prime.

Deion's version of events is factually accurate. But there are also contextual points that can undercut that apparent logic--namely the amount of time used by each play, the amount of time remaining after each play and the play calling itself. Each of those factors can affect the best utilization of the timeouts. And as Deion said himself, the timeouts don't do any good post-game.

( photo courtesy of Colorado University Athletics)

On my review, the first play call was likely a check down by QB Salter to toss a pass in the right flat that led to a loss. Short of a turnover, this outcome is the worst possible with tight time– lost yardage, lost time and a running clock. Somehow, that first play used 26 seconds of clock time. Given that circumstance, I think most people would have used one of the two remaining timeouts at that moment.

Likewise, the second play used 24 more seconds– and though it led Colorado painfully close to a first down, they didn't get it until the following play, number 3 in the possession. So, play #2 resulted in the same scenario except a small gain , but still with a running clock.

On the third play, QB Kaidon Salter scrambled leftward to gain the needed five yards. In the course of same, he momentarily crossed the line to gain for a first down. But instead of going down, he ran wider left and even gave a little ground in order to get out of bounds, ostensibly to stop the clock.

So this play ( #3) did result in a first down, and a stopped clock, but it did use more time in the process.

Colorado elected a long pass on their next play, starting from their own 39. That play ( #4) also failed...and it burned 10 more seconds. The next pass ( play #5) went for 17 yards, yielding a first down and stopping the clock.

Thus the final play ( #6) began with three seconds left and ended with a true Hail Mary attempt that was incomplete in the endzone. Game over.

So play by play, the failure to use any timeouts seems not quite logical, but slightly less illogical. Slightly. Having used 50 seconds of the available 67 seconds to run the first two plays was poor strategy, or poor execution, or both.

Furthermore, though he did eventually gain a first down on the next play (#3) , Salter scrambled left and gave ground before he was able to get out of bounds, using a few more precious seconds.

Granted, Tech had just executed their own quick scoring drive, covering 61 yards on five plays over 1:44 of clock time– so a quick score was certainly a possibility.

But in that last possession, the Buffaloes used 1:07 to gain only 25 total yards on six plays.

Ironically, though the Tech defense achieved the desired outcome, they were fortunate. The Colorado receiver was open on tbe first long pass (play #4), but he was overthrown. And on the game's final play, Georgia Tech's Isaiah Canon made a good play on the ball but was unable to bat it to the ground or to intercept it, allowing the Colorado receiver to make a final desperate attempt to corral it in the endzone.

Regarding the original question, I believe almost all coaches would have used at least one timeout, even with a stopped clock, just to make a plan and to set the stage for what play might be next.

The way the game ended– that is, the way it was allowed to end--minimized Colorado's already low chances of success.

Clock management is one of those skills wherein it's much easier to recognize missteps in the other guy, as opposed to yourself. And game circumstances certainly conspire to add to the chaos . That said, Coach Prime has faced clock management critics in the past, most notably when he used no second- half timeouts in the midst of blowing a giant halftime lead against Stanford in 2023.

All the more reason to take a timeout, even if you end up simply reaffirming the plan you already had in place .

Who knows? Calling a timeout or two might even spare you a few repetitive questions from the press.

Patrick Conarro

RamblinSports