RAMSEY: Calhoun made right call on 2-point gamble

WASHINGTON – It was the right call.

Air Force coach Troy Calhoun made a wise, courageous decision with 52 seconds remaining in his bizarre battle with the Toledo Rockets.

He went for the win, asking his punter, David Baska, to run into the end zone and deliver victory for the Falcons.

Yes, the gamble failed, dooming Air Force to a 42-41 loss in the Military Bowl. And, yes, Calhoun’s plan was risky and a little wacky.

And yet …

Calhoun made the right calculation. There was no logical reason to believe the Falcons could defeat Toledo in overtime. Air Force had spent the entire game chasing the Rockets. I don’t believe the Falcons could have passed them.

If Calhoun had shown faith in the distance and taken the safe, expected route to overtime, he would have been betting on his defense.

This season, that’s never been the right bet. The Falcons surrendered more than 30 points six times in 2011. The defense routinely got smacked upside the head.

Don’t get me wrong. This loss to Toledo was a team effort. Air Force special teams allowed a touchdown kickoff return, and Tim Jefferson handed seven points to the Rockets with an interception.

When opponents really needed to score on the Falcons this season, they scored. Calhoun had little reason to trust in his defense. Taking this shootout into extra time would have been a mistake.

And there was no strong reason to believe Jefferson and the Falcons' offense could have lined up against Toledo’s defense and powered into the end zone for 2 points.

Jefferson and the Falcons had just finished an inspiring 88-yard march to six points, but had been forced to reach into a bag of tricks to score.

On the final play of the drive, Air Force wide receiver Zack Kauth encountered defensive back Desmond Marrow at the 20-yard line. It was fourth and 3, Air Force’s last gasp. Marrow went down in a heap after colliding with Kauth.

Did Kauth push him to the turf?

“Oh, yeah,” Kauth answered with a smile. “I pushed the heck out of him. He was in my way, and it was a big play, a big situation.”

Kauth flirted with a disastrous flag, but give him credit; his spirited shove left him wide open.

Still, the play teetered on the edge of disaster. Jefferson threw to the wrong shoulder, forcing Kauth to spin his body into the right position. He made a difficult catch look easy.

Jefferson said after the game he would have loved the chance to direct one last play for the Falcons, and I understand his sentiment. It would have been ultra-dramatic to see the Falcons' offense challenge Toledo’s shaky defense, but I don’t believe it would have worked. The Falcons had faced third and 11, third and 7 and third and 9 on their final drive and averaged only 2.5 yards per carry.

Calhoun had a better plan. He knew the Rockets would line up with an unbalanced line. He knew Baska is a quick, shifty runner.

He didn’t know Toledo’s Jayrone Elliott would make a sensational play, battling through blockers to reach Baska at the 1 1/2-yard line.

Kauth and Jefferson had no idea of Calhoun’s plan. They were standing on the sideline expecting to see kicker Parker Herrington launch a game-tying extra point.

Instead, they watched a well-devised plan fall apart. Elliott swatted the ball out of Baska’s hands, and for a tantalizing instant the ball rolled at Herrington’s feet in the end zone. Victory was right there.

But Herrington couldn’t slow down enough to dive on the ball. He kicked the ball – and the game - out of bounds.

“I went from the highest I’ve ever felt to the lowest I’ve ever felt,” Kauth said.

He wasn’t alone. In front of televisions all over the country, Air Force fans mourned as they watched their team stumble to another defeat.

But the Falcons departed the 2011 season with honor. Calhoun took a quick, tough, accurate look at his flawed team and made the right call.

Twitter: @davidramz

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