How many of you have had a coach run up the score?

Don't know if there is a magic point differential or not but when the game is mathmatically decided then you change your game plan to kill the clock and go home. That is my opinion. I have in my career told my QB to kneel it 4x on the 1 yardline going in in the closing minutes b/c there was no sense scoring another meaningless TD b/c the outcome was set. I have had the favor returned to me as well. I have also had coaches throw fades to thier 6-5 WR vs our 5-5 3rd team CB for a TD with 30 seconds left to play, then tell me after the game it is up to me to keep him from running up the score? Bull. Coaches like that have no class. If he breaks a dive play while trying to run down the clock that is fine. His intent was not to score a cheap one on us. Now I know some of you will say that since you throw the ball that is how you run the clock. Fine, throw hitches and bubbles, and stay inbounds. Don't throw the fade trying to rub another team's nose in it.

What I am really trying to get at is leaving your starters in when the other team has pulled the plug on gone to the scrubs.

1. As long as you have your backups in, keep running your offense. now if it's getting close to the end of the game, take a knee instead of sticking another one in.
2. I think it's very egotistical to run your 1st string in to preserve a shutout. The only way those backups are going to learn is to try and stop them on their own. Programs that are great every year win a lot of blowouts, which allow them to get their backups extensive game experience. they just rebuild and are never truly "young" teams. On the other hand, if you just squeak by every week, it may not hurt you now, but you never really get those backups quality experience, which will hurt in future years.

A couple of scenarios:

I was a vars. asst. coach and our team was up 30 something to 0 late in the game. Our HC wanted to get the JVs in. We called a timeout so that we could line them all up and make sure they wouldn't go out with only 9 guys etc. They ran a play and nearly busted one for a TD. Then time expired. The other coach was upset. He thought we should have kneeled. I know you will say well you should have had your JVs in earlier. The game was one in which we spent quite a bit of time on Defense. The offense was scoring quickly and the opposing team was keeping their starters in all game and trying to come back, therefore we were keeping our starters in.

I know of a coach who was up big late in a game. Called timeout. Ran a homerun pass play, They are an option team. Wanted to get one of his kids a TD to break some type of record.

I think most people agree that if a team is running their base offense and scoring because of it and you can't stop it, the score is going to get ugly. But when a team is running things simply to make the score larger it is uncalled for.

I've been on both sides of this. When you have a good team your starters do deserve to play the majority of the game. They have worked hard and want to play the game just like any other kid. Playing them for the majority of the game is not bad. What you have them do can get you in trouble.

Here in Iowa we have had two rules address this situation. For the longest time it was the 50 point mercy rule. Once a team was up 50 in the second half, the game was over. I was once part of a staff where we got fifty-pointed on the third play of the second half - kind of humiliating, not to mention we had a great number of kids on the sideline who didn't see any action.
The last two years we have done away with the 50 point rule and now operate on a continuous clock in the second half when the score differential is 35 points. Makes the second half fly by, but I feel it gives me more of an opportunity to make some substitutions no matter what side of the score I'm on.

Last season, last game of the year, we were playing the district champions. They had already clinched the title and were heading to the playoffs the next week. We were not going to the playoffs, going to finish 5-4 with a loss, 6-3 with a win. They certainly were the superior team, they hadn't been scored on in the first half all season long. We went into the game with the goal to score in the first half and remain competitive the whole 48 minutes. We did score in the 2nd quarter, very proud of our kids, but the game eventually got out of hand. With the score 51-12 and the clock continuing to run late in the 4th quarter they ran a fake punt. Now, I could ALMOST excuse this action if it was a razzle-dazzle play that they wanted to put on tape for future playoff opponents to have to prepare for, but when the punter simply tucks the ball and rumbles to our 2 yard-line, that really didn't sit well with me.
I have no problem taking a beating by a superior team, but that crap is uncalled for. They fumbled on the next play and we recovered, so I suppose some sort of justice was served.