Jeff Jacobs: A Confusing, Infuriating Finish For Huskies
"I'm just describing the final seconds, because I know you're going to ask, as you should. And I know UConn Nation wants to know, as they should. All I'm doing is giving the explanation without even reviewing it. I'm recapping in my mind what I lived in that moment. I'm not even sure if I'm all spot on. I haven't even had a second. I addressed the team and came up here."
He wasn't spot on. Diaco clearly thought it was third down. It was second down. He repeated his mistake several times. And even when he was later guided by a question directly to the fact it was second down, he said, "No it was third and goal. ... We knew we had two plays. There's no way we're taking a delay [of game penalty] there and go back to the 6 or 51/2. It can't happen."
" It isn't clear if the next play would have been different if Diaco knew it was second down. Whichever way critics and defenders want to apportion blame for the clock winding down — officials, Diaco, his offensive staff — Shirreffs still could have been ordered to spike it immediately in a pinch to avoid taking the timeout. Then it really would have been third down with 17 seconds to go."