When Mullen saw how bad the first FG attempt

[Drugdog]

Was why did he not let our other kicker try? Makes No sense.
Miles gives us a Mulligan kick and we don't take advantage of it. Why? Someone please explain Why?

[Liverpooldawg]

My guess would be that Graves just doesn't have the leg for one that long. If he has never made one that long in practice why would you expect him to in a game?

[Beaver]

More times than not, if the kicker misses the 'practice' field goal, he makes the one that counts. I've never seen a coach replace a kicker after a missed time-out kick. I think Mullen would've gotten even more criticism had he put Graves in there and have him kick it short... We don't get to watch the kickers kick 50+ yarders in practice.

[Drugdog]

My guess would be that Graves just doesn't have the leg for one that long. If he has never made one that long in practice why would you expect him to in a game?

He was hitting them in Pregame!

[Thick]

Mullen said regardless of the procedure penalty, Bell was going to kick. From here on out, if I'm Mullen, I am doing everything in my God given power to always get into Graves' range period. Never again would Bell be asked to kick fg's

[msstate7]

Mullen said regardless of the procedure penalty, Bell was going to kick. From here on out, if I'm Mullen, I am doing everything in my God given power to always get into Graves' range period. Never again would Bell be asked to kick fg's

That's just Mullen covering himself for the delay of game. Graves hit a 43-yarder in the game. It would've been graves no matter what Dan said

[thf24]

All I knew is that when I saw him miss it left on the first try, he was going to miss it right on the second.

[msstate7]

All I knew is that when I saw him miss it left on the first try, he was going to miss it right on the second.

Everyone around me in the crowd was asking could he make it. I said no and I knew I was right

[Beaver]

Even after the penalty, I wish Dan would've called a HB draw or QB run. Could've gotten the 5 yards back and maybe more.

[JoseBrown]

Everyone around me in the crowd was asking could he make it. I said no and I knew I was right

That's exactly what I told my son after he missed left, I said watch this he will over adjust and miss right. Thanks golf...

[Jack Lambert]

Why not go old school on long field goals and kick it streight on like a kick off.

Bottom line is we should not have been in that positions. Holloway catches that pass in the first half we win. Shumpher catches the two point conversion we have a really good chance to win it.

[TaleofTwoDogs]

All I knew is that when I saw him miss it left on the first try, he was going to miss it right on the second.

Bingo!! We have a winner. I also thought the same thing. Bell is very predictable.

[Liverpooldawg]

Mullen said regardless of the procedure penalty, Bell was going to kick. From here on out, if I'm Mullen, I am doing everything in my God given power to always get into Graves' range period. Never again would Bell be asked to kick fg's

Based on a 51 yard kick? Now obviously with Bell he has missed plenty of shorter ones, but 51 yarders ain't exactly high %.

[Liverpooldawg]

Why not go old school on long field goals and kick it streight on like a kick off.

Bottom line is we should not have been in that positions. Holloway catches that pass in the first half we win. Shumpher catches the two point conversion we have a really good chance to win it.

If Dak doesn't take a sack on the drive before the last one we stand a good chance of winning. In a game like that there are ALWAYS a bunch of these. That's why you should never blame one play.

[CadaverDawg]

He was hitting them in Pregame!

Please tell me you're joking.

If Graves has EVER hit a 50+ yarder in his life, He should have been out there over Bell. I hoped it was that Graves can't kick that far, but it appears Mullen just Mullened that decision. And it appeared Bell not only pushed it, but left it short. So after going with the big inaccurate leg, he didn't even kick it long enough.

[tcdog70]

it looked like Grave's 40 yarder would have been good from 50.

[Swagger Vance]

Dan got cute, again. What else is new?

[Johnson85]

Was why did he not let our other kicker try? Makes No sense.
Miles gives us a Mulligan kick and we don't take advantage of it. Why? Someone please explain Why?

Most kickers will do better on their second attempt. Bell is just a headcase, so it was pretty much a foregone conclusion he was going to over correct, but it was also a foregone conclusion that he wasn't going to make it in the first place. Mullen clearly likes Bell and wants to give him a chance to redeem himself.

That said, Bell was in no way the reason we lost that game. That was at best a 60/40 proposition with a kicker with a good leg and ice water in his veins. We made lots of mistakes throughout the game, hence why we needed a last second field goal even though Miles pretty much committed to not passing after the first half.

[Rayburn8]

If bear catches that pass after the delay of game we aren't talking about this because Graves would of made a chip shot.

[War Machine Dawg]

If bear catches that pass after the delay of game we aren't talking about this because Graves would of made a chip shot.

Or if Mullen hadn't gone empty on third down the previous possession, resulting in a predictable LSU jailbreak and Dak throwing the ball away. Get points there, even if it's just a FG, and who knows?

[FISHDAWG]

That's just Mullen covering himself for the delay of game. Graves hit a 43-yarder in the game. It would've been graves no matter what Dan said

52 yds into a fairly good breeze ... Bell was our only chance. A friend that was watching on TV said it looked like it had the distance but missed wide right

[FISHDAWG]

Dan got cute, again. What else is new?

after only two post you are already on my nerves

[Dawg61]

Just once during that last drive I wish Mullen had rushed to the line after a completed pass and either thrown deep to Bear on a quick snap or rushed Shump straight up the gut. Auburn and Oregon do this quick snap all the time and it almost always results in a big gain because the defense is confused and not lined up correctly. Mullen is BRUTAL during the last two minutes of each half. Every game. Every time. Brutal.

[msstate7]

52 yds into a fairly good breeze ... Bell was our only chance. A friend that was watching on TV said it looked like it had the distance but missed wide right

I was talking about if the delay of game didn't happen

[Bubb Rubb]

Please tell me you're joking.

If Graves has EVER hit a 50+ yarder in his life, He should have been out there over Bell. I hoped it was that Graves can't kick that far, but it appears Mullen just Mullened that decision. And it appeared Bell not only pushed it, but left it short. So after going with the big inaccurate leg, he didn't even kick it long enough.

It wasn't just a 52 yard field goal. It was a 52 yard field goal into a 15 mph wind. He did have the distance on both of them. I don't fault him for running Bell out there, because Graves wasn't going to have the distance; Bell has a bigger leg. I do fault him for the playcalling at the end, and the horrific delay of game penalty.

[Matt3467]

I think the main issue the whole game is Mullen's decision to not run Dak all game. Scratch FG's, if we ran Dak I have a strong feeling we would've won that game.

[Really Clark?]

I think the main issue the whole game is Mullen's decision to not run Dak all game. Scratch FG's, if we ran Dak I have a strong feeling we would've won that game.

Or maybe if Dak decides to run when he should have. Some of this wasn't just a play call but QB decision as well. Saw where Dan alluded to Dak not running because he was going through progressions. That's great but Dak now needs to use what the defense has given you and after 4-5 seconds of time go ahead get yardage with your feet.

[godlluB]

Personally, I'd have felt a lot better watching Graves kick it up the middle but a little bit short than watching Captain Hook shank it into the corner of the student section.

[HoopsDawg]

I think the main issue the whole game is Mullen's decision to not run Dak all game. Scratch FG's, if we ran Dak I have a strong feeling we would've won that game.

Take out the sacks which would really make Dak's stats look ugly and Dak had 7 carries for 9 yards. Yes, there was a couple of times where he could have run on called pass plays and there was 1 or 2 times where he should have pulled the ball on the read option. But Dak hung in there, bought time and did a really nice job in the passing game. We have to get better on the O-line and Dan needs to coming out throwing in the first half to wear out the D-linemen and then we might have success running in the 2nd half.

[BayouDawg]

Bottom line is Bell should never have been put in the situation. Coaches get paid to put players in situations where they can succeed. How the hell does a 7th year coach get a delay of game at a crucial time like that? What the hell were we doin for 40 seconds after an incomplete pass? Dan, I love ya man but you fouled that one up royally. I thought we should have just lined up in a five wide and ran a qb power to get a few extra yards, call a timeout, and bring in graves. Instead we fart around for 40 seconds and get a delay of game. Devin Bell sucks but he should never have been put in that situation. This falls squarely on our coaching staff. To Dan's credit he did own up to it but there's still no excuse. If we had not gotten that delay of game and had a chance at 45ish yard field goal with Graves and missed it I could have lived with that because we would have given ourselves a great chance to succeed. It just sucks losimg in that way.

[sandwolf]

Bottom line is Bell should never have been put in the situation. Coaches get paid to put players in situations where they can succeed. How the hell does a 7th year coach get a delay of game at a crucial time like that? What the hell were we doin for 40 seconds after an incomplete pass? Dan, I love ya man but you fouled that one up royally. I thought we should have just lined up in a five wide and ran a qb power to get a few extra yards, call a timeout, and bring in graves. Instead we fart around for 40 seconds and get a delay of game. Devin Bell sucks but he should never have been put in that situation. This falls squarely on our coaching staff. To Dan's credit he did own up to it but there's still no excuse. If we had not gotten that delay of game and had a chance at 45ish yard field goal with Graves and missed it I could have lived with that because we would have given ourselves a great chance to succeed. It just sucks losimg in that way.

Completely agree.

[sandwolf]

It wasn't just a 52 yard field goal. It was a 52 yard field goal into a 15 mph wind.

I don't remember any wind during the game and I am 48 rows up.....and a 15 mph wind is pretty noticeable. And even if there was some wind out of the north, the expansion and the new jumbotron would minimize its effects. And hell, Graves had already hammered home a 43 yarder on that end of the field right before half time.

[FISHDAWG]

I don't remember any wind during the game and I am 48 rows up.....and a 15 mph wind is pretty noticeable. And even if there was some wind out of the north, the expansion and the new jumbotron would minimize its effects. And hell, Graves had already hammered home a 43 yarder on that end of the field right before half time.

you must have been at the game with Mr. Daniels ....... wind was def blowing. I was in upper East side - not sure how it felt elsewhere

[HoopsDawg]

you must have been at the game with Mr. Daniels ....... wind was def blowing. I was in upper East side - not sure how it felt elsewhere

Upper decks were brutal, but the flag was moving that much. It was probably 5mph on the field. Agree with other poster, I just don't get how dan doesn't call timeout with 1 second on the play clock. Dak looked oblivious to the play clock as well.

[I seen it dawg]

I don't remember any wind during the game and I am 48 rows up.....and a 15 mph wind is pretty noticeable. And even if there was some wind out of the north, the expansion and the new jumbotron would minimize its effects. And hell, Graves had already hammered home a 43 yarder on that end of the field right before half time.

On scoreboard terrace and wind was ripping over the wall and into the football. No way that ball was going to hook in. Center of the field and prob just sneaks in the right side.

[mstatefan91]

Please tell me you're joking.

If Graves has EVER hit a 50+ yarder in his life, He should have been out there over Bell. I hoped it was that Graves can't kick that far, but it appears Mullen just Mullened that decision. And it appeared Bell not only pushed it, but left it short. So after going with the big inaccurate leg, he didn't even kick it long enough.

I only ever saw Graves attempt a 42 yarder in the pre-game. It was good but not by a lot (it was losing air quickly).

Maybe I didn't see it right, but it looked like Bell had plenty of leg on the kick but just kicked it straight ahead as if he was attempting from the center of the field. I haven't re-watched and only saw it live so I could be dead wrong..

Also, I didn't feel any noticeable wind on the lower east side, but I was concentrated on the game and probably just didn't notice it

[I seen it dawg]

He kicked the shit out of it. Straight as a board right done the damn hash.

[spudd21]

I made a point to look at the orange flags on the goal post and they were barely flapping.

[I seen it dawg]

Correct they weren't. But the wind was cutting thru about mid post level

[sandwolf]

you must have been at the game with Mr. Daniels ....... wind was def blowing. I was in upper East side - not sure how it felt elsewhere

I guess it just wasn't hitting where I was sitting, because I sure don't remember it. But that is the same side of the field that Graves hit the 43 yarder from at the end of the first half, correct?

[msstate7]

I guess it just wasn't hitting where I was sitting, because I sure don't remember it. But that is the same side of the field that Graves hit the 43 yarder from at the end of the first half, correct?

Opposite side

[Jack Lambert]

Bottom line is Bell should never have been put in the situation. Coaches get paid to put players in situations where they can succeed. How the hell does a 7th year coach get a delay of game at a crucial time like that? What the hell were we doin for 40 seconds after an incomplete pass? Dan, I love ya man but you fouled that one up royally. I thought we should have just lined up in a five wide and ran a qb power to get a few extra yards, call a timeout, and bring in graves. Instead we fart around for 40 seconds and get a delay of game. Devin Bell sucks but he should never have been put in that situation. This falls squarely on our coaching staff. To Dan's credit he did own up to it but there's still no excuse. If we had not gotten that delay of game and had a chance at 45ish yard field goal with Graves and missed it I could have lived with that because we would have given ourselves a great chance to succeed. It just sucks losimg in that way.

I think the coaches were trying to get a time out. Dak was in the best position to do it.

[BayouDawg]

I think the coaches were trying to get a time out. Dak was in the best position to do it.

Agreed Dak was in the best position to call a TO. Regardless it should have never come to that. There was no reason to crap around for 40 seconds. Get the damn play in. But it's over, nothin can be done about it now. It just sucks to lose because of brain fart mistakes like that. A win on the plains would go a long way in easing the pain though.

[Aquadawg]

If bear catches that pass after the delay of game we aren't talking about this because Graves would of made a chip shot.

I disagree... that play you refer to was not put out in front of bear where only he had a shot at it. It was in on his body which allowed the defender to get a hand on it. The big miss on that last drive was ross dropping thru ball at the 12 when dak scrambled to his left. It wasn't a real easy catch but he got both hands on it and it went right threw. Ross has had a tough couple of games but he has a high ceiling and I expect him to be really good from here on out...