Nov 21, 2019
11:30:09am
11:30:09am
Sorry Punk, the flip side has way more "ifs"
The only real "if" of significance on my points is if Hawaii scores a TD there, does BYU still go down and score a TD? Well, a TD or a FG from Hawaii there gives Hawaii the lead. As we know they got the FG and took the lead and momentum. There is still over 8.5 minutes left in the game. BYU has to score no matter what to win, either way.
What we do know is that BYU marched down the field and scored a TD and stopped Hawaii the rest of the way. A TD was enough to overcome Hawaii's FG, and also would have overcome a TD by Hawaii. When BYU did this, Hawaii had the momentum in their favor. Realize that as it was, after Hawaii's FG, BYU's back was against the wall and the pressure was on for them to score. Your argument (or at least the apparent argument of those who claim that the Morrell tackle saved the season) is that had Hawaii scored a TD, the momentum for Hawaii would have likely been so stiff that BYU would likely not have scored a TD. I think that view is naive. The reality was that Hawaii's FG gave them lots of momentum, and the lead, and BYU was playing under significant pressure at that point to score. They handled it well and went down and scored a TD. They likely would have done exactly the same had Hawaii scored a TD. Again, that is really the only "if" of significance, not lots of ifs as you alleged.
A couple of other "ifs" that are tangential that do not really touch the points I made above are that 1) Cherry may not have scored the TD even if Morrell had not jumped over the line [go back and watch it, BYU's DL held firm and did not budge, and they had linebacker help coming up ... but yes, Cherry may still have scored], and 2) even if BYU had not scored a TD right after Hawaii's FG, there was still time for BYU to have another possession and possibly score a TD.
The bottom line is that Morrell's play was outstanding and unique and IMO is a top 10 play in BYU history, it just is not accurate to really make the claim that it saved BYU's undefeated NC season, as BYU likely wins that game even if Morrell does not make the play.
What we do know is that BYU marched down the field and scored a TD and stopped Hawaii the rest of the way. A TD was enough to overcome Hawaii's FG, and also would have overcome a TD by Hawaii. When BYU did this, Hawaii had the momentum in their favor. Realize that as it was, after Hawaii's FG, BYU's back was against the wall and the pressure was on for them to score. Your argument (or at least the apparent argument of those who claim that the Morrell tackle saved the season) is that had Hawaii scored a TD, the momentum for Hawaii would have likely been so stiff that BYU would likely not have scored a TD. I think that view is naive. The reality was that Hawaii's FG gave them lots of momentum, and the lead, and BYU was playing under significant pressure at that point to score. They handled it well and went down and scored a TD. They likely would have done exactly the same had Hawaii scored a TD. Again, that is really the only "if" of significance, not lots of ifs as you alleged.
A couple of other "ifs" that are tangential that do not really touch the points I made above are that 1) Cherry may not have scored the TD even if Morrell had not jumped over the line [go back and watch it, BYU's DL held firm and did not budge, and they had linebacker help coming up ... but yes, Cherry may still have scored], and 2) even if BYU had not scored a TD right after Hawaii's FG, there was still time for BYU to have another possession and possibly score a TD.
The bottom line is that Morrell's play was outstanding and unique and IMO is a top 10 play in BYU history, it just is not accurate to really make the claim that it saved BYU's undefeated NC season, as BYU likely wins that game even if Morrell does not make the play.
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11/19/19 3:44pm
It's not with hindsight that we talk about the impact of that play, but rather how we all saw the situation as that play
11/19/19 5:33pm
11/19/19 12:59pm
11/19/19 2:16pm
11/19/19 3:40pm
11/19/19 6:45pm
11/21/19 7:54am
11/19/19 9:04pm