re: Mullens' conservatism is almost disqualifying

I don't think he went that conservative. The left side of the line had been getting a good push all night. He ran Williams to the left, and I am sure that he expected more than a yard on the play. It wasn't like it was a random run into the middle. On the next play, they were trying to get 3rd down to a manageable distance, and Bama shut Fitz down for another 1 yard gain. MSU with on 3rd and less that 5 has a really high conversion rate. We aren't good at 3rd and 8 or more. The next play was OK, but it is one where you want your player to win the one on one. He didn't.

Not going for it on 4th and 3.5 was an OK decision. Your punter needs to keep the ball on the field short of the goal line. If the defense gets the 3rd and 15 stop, the coaching decisions look just fine.