Ask CGB - Forgive and Forget?

Why did we accept the holding penalty?

In the first half, on third and 2, we stopped UW for a 1 yard game for 4-1 on their 40, but there was a holding call. For some reason we accepted the 10 yard penalty, they go on to get the first down and score.

Why the hell did we accept the penalty, Sark wasn't going to go for it then. Am I missing something....

p.s. Maynard is a gamer

I think it's really a close call there - that's more a hunch about how you think the other team will react than anything. I would think Sarkisian, with Polk in his backfield, is more apt than most teams to go for it on fourth and short. At least more likely to do so, than, say, our Bears. With Isi.

Basically...

Sure, this could happen. But then...

So could this.

Berkelium97: This one is simple math.  If we decline the penalty they have 4th and 1.  Do you think we prevent a one-yard gain from Chris Polk? I don't.  If we accept the penalty, it's 3rd and 12.  They now have to average 6 yards per play to convert instead of 1.  I have much more confidence that we can prevent 12 yards on two plays than we can prevent 1 yard on one play.

Kodiak: Dice roll.  The Cal coaches guessed that it would be harder for UW to make a third and long than a 4th and a foot.  I think Sark would have gone - Polk is a bruising runner running behind a big Oline.

CBKWit: This was a tough one to swallow.  We had just stuffed Polk on 3rd and 1, and the Huskies were around their 40 yard line in the second quarter.  Have to figure they will punt in that situation.

shawnxt asks something that I really don't like to bother thinking about.

Does loss @ UW have any effect on recruiting?

I heard that some of our recruits were at the Cal-UW (ie Shaq Thompson). Is that true? And will this be one of the deciding factors of whether they choose UW or Cal or some other school?

I'm going to say that while it probably has an effect, its likely to be so small it doesn't matter much. If a guy is really basing his decision on which school to go to based on how they performed during a campus visit, well, he's probably kinda flaky. There's so much more that goes into it that I can't believe that a loss would turn the tide. So while it probably doesn't help, I wouldn't lose much sleep over it either. Or you could just listen to what Kod says.

Kodiak: No.  Last year's strong recruiting class despite the subpar on-the-field product suggests that there are more factors going into recruiting than just W's and L's.  If anything, recruits might look at the number of young players who were getting a lot of snaps and see an opportunity for early playing time.

It feels like the more people learn about football, the less than they know, oobay.

Why are we passing to our RB's so much?

in critical situations? We're overthinking things. Just throw the rock up for KA and MJ.

Maybe because they're the ones that are open? Sounds like you're the one who's overthinking things. For a less vicious response, let's go to Kodiak.

Kodiak: UW switched up their coverages in the 2nd half to make it tougher to get to KA and Jones.  On one side, they would play tight press coverage which made it harder to complete anything quick.  On the other, they had their CB in zone and rolled either a safety over the top or a linebacker underneath.  In theory, Maynard could still try to force a throw to the covered receiver.  

Is there a way to not let a loss ruin your day?

See, every time we enter a Saturday with a losable game on schedule, I say to myself, "hey, a loss is practically expected here. We're not a great team, and this is a tough road environment..." or whatever the case may be. And I make peace with potentially losing... 

...Then the game starts.

I don't know if it's the way we lose or if its that, at some point in the game, I get my hopes up.

If you know the secret to this, also let me know how you enjoy a round of golf after that first quad bogey.