University of North Carolina Athletics
Rick Brewer Discusses The Decision To Go For A Touchdown
October 13, 1999 | Football
Oct. 13, 1999
y Rick Brewer
I don't know how much criticism Carl Torbush has gotten for Carolina's 31-24 overtime loss to Georgia Tech last week.
As head coach, he deserves whatever is tossed at his football team. That's the nature of his profession. Dealing with criticism comes with the job.
However, any he has received is unwarranted.
With Carolina leading 24-21 in the final three minutes of the game, Tim Burgess intercepted a Joe Hamilton pass at the Tech 18 and returned it to the 10-yard line. The Tar Heels suddenly had a first-and-goal and an opportunity to finish off the seventh-ranked Yellow Jackets.
Three plays netted eight yards and when Tech called its final timeout with 1:14 on the clock, the Tar Heels were faced with a fourth-and-goal.
Torbush had to decide whether to attempt a field goal or try to punch the ball in for a decisive touchdown. He elected to go for the touchdown. As everyone knows, the Yellow Jackets kept Deon Dyer out of the end zone and then drove 79 yards for a tying field goal to force overtime.
Tech scored in the extra period and then stopped the Tar Heels to complete the comeback victory.
The main job of a head football coach is obviously putting a team together - making personnel decisions, helping formulate game plans, devising practices outlines, recruiting, dealing with any off-the-field problems his players may have and a multitude of other duties.
Actually coaching during a game takes up a minute portion of a coach's time. But, it is the most visible part of his job. Major end-of-the-game decisions are a smaller part of that. However, they stand out even more to fans.
I haven't asked Torbush, but I would imagine immediately following the Burgess interception he decided that if faced with a fourth down situation inside the five his team would go for the end zone. Those type of scenarios are usually thought about well in advance. Sometimes, coaches change their mind because of a game's flow, something that has happened earlier that day or simply a seat-of-the-pants hunch. But, all of the possibilities have been discussed by the coaching staff earlier in the week.
Still, it is the head coach who has to make the final call. He is the one who gets paid to do that, who gets credit for the victory or the loss in the record books, who has to take any criticism for the final decision.
Anyone who has doubted the wisdom of Torbush's choice is correct that it didn't work. However, that doesn't mean the decision wasn't the right one.
Even if Josh McGee had kicked a short field goal, Carolina would have only had a six-point lead and been turning the ball over to the nation's most prolific offense on at least the 20-yard line. With Dez White returning kickoffs, the Jacket field position could have been even better. He came into the game averaging 28.8 yards per return, the 13th best figure in the country.
Torbush's thought was to go for the clinching touchdown and, even if Carolina didn't get it, make the Yellow Jackets start from their own one or two without any timeouts.
If the Tar Heels didn't score, Tech wouldn't have to go the entire field, of course. They could get into field goal range for the tying points and possibly force overtime. But, Luke Manget had already missed 40 and 39-yard attempts so making a field goal was far from a sure thing.
Although Tech had already amassed 406 yards of total offense to that point, the Tar Heel defense had made a number of big plays and forced six turnovers. If the Jackets were in a situation where they had to go a great distance, they would have to take some risky chances which would increase the opportunity for another turnover.
Plus, Torbush was sending a message to his young team-- a team that was 1-3 and in great need of a break to go its way, a team which had lost its offensive catalyst, quarterback Ronald Curry, early in the second quarter and its defensive leader, linebacker Merceda Perry, in the first period with injuries, a team that had seen linebacker Brandon Spoon, its anticipated defensive star, be lost for the year in the season's second game.
He wanted his players to know he had confidence his offense could score and that his defense could contain Tech even if the Jackets stopped them. That isn't what happened, but that message could pay off as Carolina heads into the second half of the season.
Things won't be easy. Luke Huard, who hadn't been able to see a great deal of action until last week, now must take over at quarterback as Curry is gone for the year. Perry's status will be evaluated daily so the team will practice as if he won't be ready.
After a murderous first five games, Carolina had been hoping for an easier series of games down the stretch. But, now that appears out of the question. Houston, this week's opponent, is 3-2 after defeating Cincinnati last week. That's the same Bearcat team which had upset Wisconsin earlier in the year. Maryland, Wake Forest and N.C. State are obviously much stronger than most people had anticipated in pre-season forecasts. Duke, which beat Virginia last Saturday, always plays the Tar Heels tough.
So, should Torbush have ordered a field goal attempt last week at Tech? It's easy to say now that he should have and taken his chances on stopping a long kickoff return and a winning touchdown drive in regulation.
But, if that game had been played in Kenan Stadium under the same conditions, how many of the people who think that was the thing to do would have been on their feet yelling, "Go, go, go, go," on fourth down?
I would venture to say over 90 percent and they, like Torbush, would have been right.
