5 head-scratching coaching decisions since 2015 that potentially cost teams a B1G title

Every year there are a handful of decisions coaches make that leave you scratching your head. Every fanbase, at one point or another, has played the “what if” game. So I decided to bring up some of those questionable play calls B1G coaches have made over the last few years.

Since 2015, there have been several decisions B1G coaches have made that have left us all flummoxed. While I could’ve come up with an all-inclusive list, I decided to narrow it down to the top five. Oh, and these decisions also potentially cost teams the opportunity to play for a conference title, or perhaps even more.

So yes, be prepared to have those angry, sad and confused emotions surface again while reading. Just try not to throw your laptop or phone across the room.

5. Jim Harbaugh opts to punt against Michigan State (2015)

This one is easy to label as a head-scratching decision knowing the result, but it’s primarily execution that cost the Wolverines. Michigan sent its punt team onto the field with 10 seconds left and a 23-21 lead over Michigan State. Blake O’Neill didn’t handle the snap cleanly, Jalen Watts-Jackson recovered the fumble and raced to the end zone for a game-winning touchdown.

Yes, if Michigan executes the punt properly, we’re not talking about this.

But, the Wolverines had the football at the Michigan State 47-yard line and were faced with a 4th-and-2 and the Spartans didn’t have any timeouts remaining. Even if Michigan runs a simple handoff and doesn’t get the first down, four or five seconds come off the clock and Connor Cook would’ve been forced to heave the ball to the end zone.

Michigan still got clobbered by Ohio State later in the year, but the Wolverines would’ve entered The Game with a chance to reach the B1G Championship Game in Harbaugh’s first season.

4. Mike Riley goes ultra conservative in Madison (2016)

Nebraska made the trip to Camp Randall Stadium a perfect 7-0 and in control of its own destiny. And with six minutes left in the game, it looked like the Huskers were going to knock off Wisconsin in Madison.

The Huskers trailed 17-14 in the fourth quarter but Tommy Armstrong Jr. had just completed a 25-yard pass to Stanley Morgan Jr., putting Nebraska on the Badgers’ 21-yard line. But then, after picking up 49 yards in 7 plays and one of the top dual-threat quarterbacks in the B1G, Riley decided to run the football three straight times. The Huskers gained three yards and settled for a tying field goal.

Nebraska forced overtime, but fell 23-17 to Wisconsin.

Had Riley called a pass play, or at least allowed Armstrong to roll out a time or two, Nebraska might’ve been able to plunge into the end zone and improve to 8-0 on the year. The Huskers finished one game behind Wisconsin in the West standings, meaning the loss cost Nebraska a trip to Indianapolis.

3. Kirk Ferentz’s bad math costs Iowa a chance to tie Wisconsin (2016)

This is a moment that still bothers Iowa fans.

The Hawkeyes trailed Wisconsin 14-6 and had the ball at the Badgers’ 20-yard line on a 4th-and-5 with just under 5:30 to play. A touchdown and a two-point conversion would’ve knotted the game at 14. But instead of trying to pick up the five yards and get to the end zone a few plays later, Ferentz opted to kick a field goal — which Keith Duncan missed, by the way.

At the time, it was a perplexing decision. Even if Duncan made the field goal, Iowa still would’ve needed a touchdown to win the game. But the postgame comments from Ferentz rubbed salt in the wound.

“You have to score twice. It gets down to that,” Ferentz said postgame. “Somehow, some way you’re going to have to score twice.”

Either Ferentz had absolutely no faith in his offense or he still couldn’t quite do the math. Or maybe it was a combination. Regardless, it cost the Hawkeyes a shot to win the West.

2. James Franklin takes the ball out of McSorley’s hands (2018)

Rather than keep the ball in the hands of Trace McSorley in the closing moments against Ohio State, James Franklin agreed that handing the ball off to Miles Sanders on a 4th-and-5, down 27-26 with a little over a minute left in the game was a good idea.

It was not.

Sanders was stuffed in the backfield for a three-yard loss by Chase Young and Penn State fell to Ohio State by one point for a second-straight season. While the Nittany Lions went on to drop games against Michigan State and Michigan, you can’t help but feel like the loss to the Buckeyes had a lingering affect on the team.

McSorley had been the heart and soul of Penn State for the last three years. Even if he threw an incompletion or a scramble came up short of the line to gain, at least Franklin would’ve allowed his best player the opportunity to make something happen.

1. Urban Meyer refuses to feed Zeke against Michigan State (2015)

Ohio State returned a plethora of talent from the 2014 national championship team. Michigan State was without starting quarterback Connor Cook. Yet the Spartans still walked out of Columbus with a victory.

Why? Urban Meyer didn’t feed Zeke.

Ezekiel Elliott led the B1G in rushing yardage and rushing touchdowns but only saw 12 carries and gained just 33 yards against the Spartans. He was given the ball just twice in the second half. It was the only time in the 2015 season that the star running back didn’t eclipse the 100-yard mark in a game.

The result was Michael Geiger drilling a 41-yard field goal as time expired to lead Michigan State to a 17-14 win in The Horseshoe. After the game, Elliott called out the coaching staff and announced that he had played his final game in a Buckeye uniform.

Meyer’s refusal to run the football not only cost Ohio State the game against Michigan State, the Buckeyes missed out on a division and conference title and were left out of the College Football Playoff. Ohio State might’ve claimed titles in the first two playoff years, had he run Zeke a little more.