stupid question

[MadJack]

i'm sure i've asked before but i probably didn't get a logical answer or i would have remembered (i think)

in college football, when a team wins the coin toss, why in the hell don't they elect to take the ball instead of kicking the damn thing away and waiting for the 2nd half?

i don't have the stats but i'm certain that the team that scores first wins a higher percentage of the games, no? and, if you get the ball first, your chances of scoring first are greatly increased.

why?

 

[hellah10]

Re: stupid question

in college football, when a team wins the coin toss, why in the hell don't they elect to take the ball instead of kicking the damn thing away and waiting for the 2nd half?

Because....

1. You want to see what the defense is doing early
2. You have a chance to score at the end of the half and get the ball back - almost like a turnover.
3. Gives your D a rest coming out of the locker room....

adjustments adjustments adjustments adjustments adjustments adjustments adjustments adjustments adjustments adjustments

 

[Felonious Monk]

Here's another one for you Jack:

When Texas played UNT for their first game, we ended up kicking off for both halves. Strange right? Why would we give someone an extra posession?

Come to find out UNT won the toss and deferred to the second half. We chose to go on defense first and UNT got their choice of what they wanted to do in the second half.

I have to think it was a mistake because I heard that our captains came off the field shrugging their shoulders like they didn't know what was going on.

 

[MadJack]

i can understand deferring to the 2nd half, or kicking to THEM in both halves, during bad weather conditions but hellah10's answer doesn't cut it. why don't the pros do the same thing then? because it's stupid unless the wind is so bad and you want to start with the best side of the field.

imo, you should take the ball every chance you get, but there HAS to be an explanation of why they don't in college.

 

[gridman]

In the NFL why do they elect to receive 99% of the time? Is it because once they score first, the other team is playing catch up? Seems to me this should work greater in the college game.
Just a thought.

GM

 

[MadJack]

Gives your D a rest coming out of the locker room

huh? they just had a rest and a longer one than the pros get. :shrug:

christ! if they need a rest coming outta the locker room, something is wrong. they should be fired up!!

 

[NJO]

Pros don't have the deferral option, NCAA does.

That said, I have no good answer to Jack's question, just a lot of mediocre ones

 

[MadJack]

i'm pretty sure the pros do, or at least used to, have that option. i've seen them do it in snow and heavy rain to get the best side of the field.

 

[yak merchant]

Here is the NFL rule. There is no Defer.


Coin Toss
1. The toss of coin will take place within three minutes of kickoff in center of field. The toss will be called by the visiting captain before the coin is flipped. The winner may choose one of two privileges and the loser gets the other:

(a) Receive or kick

(b) Goal his team will defend

2. Immediately prior to the start of the second half, the captains of both teams must inform the officials of their respective choices. The loser of the original coin toss gets first choice.



And from what I've heard Hellah is pretty much right. One less possession when your defense is tired and the offenses haven't had a chance to view film and make adjustments.

 

[MadJack]

thanks yak. maybe i saw the pros do it in OT (?) in severe conditions, because i have seen them choose to kick instead of receive.

still not buying the reason to defer in college.

give me the ball.

 

[NYMess]

Jack,
I think one thing that is being overlooked is experience and talent. If you have an inexperinced offensive unit yet have the defense similar to your Ravens of their Super Bowl year, then wouldn't you want to let your D come out first and set an early tone and hopefully have that carry over to the offensive side of the ball?? I mean, Lord knows that momentum is HUGE in the college game.

 

[88fj62]

IMHO its a stategy used primarily in college ball to attempt to set the tone of the game and to gain filed position. It generally is applicable on any team independent of its offensive or defensive power.

Think through this: If you are weak on O and are playing a tough D you may get stuck deep in your end and punting out of your end zone. Hence defer the other team will always take the ball and you are out of the situation. On the Defenseive side of things if your D is dominante and you think you can stop the other O with a quick seiries then you will have put your O in position. This especially will help a team with a weak O.


Tone of the game is big in college ball as we all know. If your on the road and you stuff the home team with a 3 and out then you can quite the crowd. If you are at home the crowd will just be that much more involved (fenzied) and ready to support the O.

Additionally, The offense can benefit from staying on the sidelines for a possession to let their jitters and such calm down. As mentioned earlier in this thread you also get the ball coming out of the locker room after halftime that can help you pad your lead or inspire a comeback. If you come out of the locker room down and a bit shaken and you kickoff and then let another 7 go up on the board it can be tough.

I hope this made sense as I am typing like mad and not proofing a thing. In closing most coaches see the deferal after winning the coin toss as win/win. They potentially can gain field position and conversly not give up field position. Keep in mind that in all strategy things don't work out.

Georgia elected to take the ball after winning the toss against South Carolina two week ago because Coack Richt new the storm was coming. This however as he stated later in the paper is aginst his general coin toss strategy.


88fj62

 

[cubbear]

best point here !!

best point here !!

i would ALWAYS take the ball first !!! the one who has it first is the only one that has a chance to have it the most !!! if you start and end the game with the ball your going to have one more chance than if you kicked off at the start of the game....
worst case is that both teams would have it the same amount if you dont end up with it last ...OPINIONS ???

 

[#cruncher]

In college I think it is done primarily with teams with outstanding defenses...have to remember, much like basketball, great defense is, or can lead to, good or easy offense. There can be still enough disparity in college for this to be the case, but rarely the NFL where just about any team is capable of beating another on any given day.