William and Mary vs. Stony Brook Football Game: A Clown Car of Clock Mismanagement

Last Saturday, Maria and I went to a William and Mary football game as part of our Williamsburg fun day. The Tribe were taking on Stony Brook, a rival in the Colonial Athletic Association. The game started at 6:00, and it was perfect weather for football.

Ticket Drama:

I ordered tickets online, and as I've done in the past, marked that I would pick them up at the Will Call booth. I've never had a problem with the Will Call booth before - you say your name, show the person your identification, and pick up your tickets. This is not rocket science!

As part of William and Mary's stadium renovation in 2016, the school added an upper deck, an upgraded press box, new concession stands, etc. They also moved the Will Call booth and somehow managed to screw up the process.

There were four lines at the booth - two said "Ticket Sales," one said "Will Call," and the last said "Will Call Players." What's worse: The "Will Call" line had a piece of paper taped to the glass that said "A-M Press Pass," and the "Will Call Players" line had a piece of paper taped to the glass that said "N-Z Press Pass."

I got into the regular "Will Call" line because I'm obviously not part of the press nor related to a player. The whole "A-M" and "N-Z" pieces of paper were confusing, however, because most Will Call booths split up the customers by last name. 

At the front of my line was a woman having an animated conversation with the lady behind the glass. I'm not sure what the problem was, but it seemed as though she was applying for a mortgage. First, the woman kept telling the lady that she wanted to sit "with the sun facing this way" (she was doing a motion with her hand). Then she kept saying, "No, no, let me see the seating chart" as the man next to her (I'm guessing her husband) stared at a cell phone saying "uh huh" in encouragement.

I gathered that this was a player's mother, and she was trying to buy tickets. So why wasn't she in either the "Will Call Players" or "Ticket Sales" lines?? Literally, of the four lines, this was the only one she SHOULDN'T be in.

By the time she got her tickets, the line was so backed up that it was snaking into the area where you scan your tickets to enter the stadium. Then, as she was leaving, she said to the line, "Sorry." No, you're not! Don't feign concern for us now, ma'am.

Fun Fact: When I got to the front of the line, I had my printed receipt and ID ready to go. The lady working the line said, "Oh, you already paid for these??" YES, THIS IS HOW WILL CALL WORKS! Is no one else familiar with this concept??

A Wild Ending:

Before I write about the epic clock mismanagement at the end of the game, I want to say that the upper deck addition is beautiful. We had tickets right on the 50 yard line, and the view was perfect. 

A slightly zoomed in view from the new upper deck

Stony Brook dominated for most of the game and led 21-0 in the middle of the 3rd quarter. Fans started to file out as William and Mary struggled to do anything on offense. However, things turned around later in the 3rd quarter when William and Mary had a long drive that ended in a field goal.

In the 4th quarter, a Tribe touchdown, followed by another quick score (and two-point conversion) suddenly made the score 21-18. Stony Brook was pulling an Atlanta Falcons from the Super Bowl last year! 

It looked as though William and Mary's comeback was going to come up short, however, when the Tribe threw an interception with four minutes left. After a Stony Brook first down, William and Mary was forced to use its timeouts.

Stony Brook had a 2nd-and-10 from their own 35 yard line with 1:50 on the clock and William and Mary out of timeouts. Because most plays take about five seconds, and you can take 40 seconds between plays, Stony Brook could bleed the clock down to about 20 seconds before having to punt. Barring a miracle punt return or a Hail Mary pass from William and Mary, the game was over.

On second down, Stony Brook runs for no gain. After the play, a Stony Brook player blatantly hits a William and Mary defender! Penalty flags fly in. Personal foul on Stony Brook - 15 yard penalty. The best part is that the clock stops on the penalty, so they gave us a free timeout before third down. Thanks, Stony Brook!

On third down, Stony Brook runs for a few yards and then bleeds the play clock down before punting. Thanks to their bonehead penalty on the last play, Stony Brook can only run the clock down to about 1:00 left.

Following the punt, William and Mary has the ball on its own 35 yard line. On second down, William and Mary's quarterback has to scramble for minimal gain. Then, a clear late hit on the QB out of bounds! Personal foul on Stony Brook - 15 yard penalty and free timeout. Again, thanks!

On the next play, William and Mary completes a pass for 11 yards. Flags come flying in. Personal foul on Stony Brook for an illegal hit - 15 yard penalty and a free timeout. That is three personal fouls in the last minute and a half! The Stony Brook player was actually kicked out of the game for a "targeting" penalty.

Now William and Mary has the ball on the Stony Brook 20 yard line with 25 seconds left. A field goal ties it, and a touchdown wins. On first down, the Tribe throw incomplete to the end zone.

Stony Brook's offense had terrible clock management, so now it was time for William and Mary to return the favor. On second down, the Tribe hand the ball off to a running back, who gains about three yards. WHAT? Remember, they are out of timeouts! Now it's third down and the clock is running. William and Mary frantically lines up to spike the ball so they can kick a field goal on fourth down.

With eight seconds to go, William and Mary is lined up for the spike, but an offensive lineman flinches. DARN! False start on the offense. By rule, because the clock was running and William and Mary is out of timeouts, it's a 10-second runoff. The game is over. 

(To clarify the rule if you don't follow football: When the clock is running and a team does not have a timeout, an offensive penalty results in a loss of yardage and 10 seconds run off the clock. The "10 second runoff" is designed to prevent teams from purposely committing penalties for the sole purpose of stopping the clock).

Even Coach Homer Simpson knew to throw in this situation

Why would you run the ball in this situation?? Unless the running back takes it all the way for a touchdown, you are creating a scenario where you have to frantically spike the ball to get the field goal unit on. If you want to kick, then just kick on second down. Otherwise, pass the ball. When you throw, at least the clock stops on an incomplete pass.

It was a disappointing end to an exciting game. Hats off to the frustrated man walking down the stairs behind us who said to no one in particular, "We can't even get lined up properly!" Well, sir, we shouldn't have been running the ball to begin with.

Post-Game Mystery: 

While driving home on Route 64, there was an odor around mile marker 225. I would describe the smell as a concoction of roasted Brussels sprouts, raw fish, and Limburger cheese, mixed in a flaming dumpster outside of a paper mill. What on Earth was that smell?

In any case, blessings to everyone working at the Will Call booth, best wishes to the football coaches as they learn clock management, and good luck to the Commonwealth of Virginia as it tries to track down that horrific odor!

Photo Credit:
Homer Simpson: http://simpsons.wikia.com/wiki/Springfield_Wildcats