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Mr. Clutch
by Chris James, 12/21/04
Flash back to the 2002 season. The Hokies have the ball 1st and 10 on the
Syracuse 25 yard line. They are trailing 50-42 in the 3rd overtime, and must
have a touchdown and a 2 point conversion on this drive. Bryan Randall drops
back to pass, throws a fade to Ernest Wilford into heavy coverage. Intercepted.
Go forward one week to the West Virginia game in Blacksburg. It is 2nd and 10
from the WVU 11 yard line and the Hokies are trailing 21-18. Bryan Randall is
flushed from the pocket and throws into heavy coverage yet again and is
intercepted in the end zone with 12 seconds remaining.
Remember those frustrating moments? Randall was enjoying a decent season up
until that point. The defense was stopping every team on the schedule, while
Randall’s job was to not turn the ball over and to protect the lead while the
defense and the running game did their things. However, when the defense began
their November collapse and the team needed Randall to perform in the clutch, he
could not answer the bell. Those struggles didn’t end in 2002. Instead, they
lasted throughout the 2003 season and into 2004.
Randall’s performance in the clutch became a hot topic on TSL Message
Boards. Some argued that his age and experience would come into play in 2004,
and that the Hokies would benefit from having a senior quarterback who was
entering his 3rd year as the starter. Others said that Randall’s past history
would repeat itself and that the Hokies were heading towards a 7-5 season, or
worse.
Randall did nothing to help his supporters at the beginning of the 2004
season. With the Hokies in a tight game with #1 USC, Randall made some horrible
plays down the stretch. Trailing 14-10 in the 4th quarter, Tech had the ball on
the USC 25 on a crucial 3rd and 8. Richard Johnson came across the field on a
crossing pattern with no USC defender in a position to make the stop. Randall
fired a pass that was way behind Johnson, who had some room to run. At the very
least it would have been a first down for Tech. Brandon Pace kicked a 42 yard
field goal on the next play, making the score 14-13. Perhaps nothing would have
changed if Randall had hit that pass. USC could have easily won the game despite
it. However, imagine if the Hokies get a touchdown on that drive, and are
leading the game 17-14 with 7 minutes or less left on the clock (Pace kicked the
field goal with 7:55 remaining). That puts an awful lot of pressure on USC to
rally. Randall later had a crucial fumble with 2:01 remaining and Tech trailing
21-13. USC converted the turnover into a field goal, and the game was sealed.
This season, something finally clicked for Bryan Randall, and he began to
start playing better down the stretch. During the NC State game, Randall led the
team on two critical field goal drives to bring Tech within a point. In the
final drive of the game, Randall hooked up with Josh Hyman on a crucial 4th down
play to keep the drive alive. Randall later hit David Clowney for a 38 yard
completion that put Tech in field goal range. Unfortunately for Randall and his
legacy (up until that point at least) the kick sailed wide right. Bryan Randall
was in the middle of his senior season, and he had yet to lead his team to a
victory in the 4th quarter.
The best-known 4th quarter comeback by Bryan Randall this season was against
Georgia Tech on national television. However I think we need to go back two
games and see Randall’s performance in the Wake Forest game during the 4th
quarter. Using his arm and his legs, and with the game tied 10-10 in the 4th and
on the road, Randall led the team down the field for a game winning touchdown
drive. Randall hit Jeff King for a 24 yard completion and had runs of 12, 12 and
21 yards before Mike Imoh scored the winning touchdown. The defense had a goal
line stand with just seconds remaining to make the lead stand up.
You know the story after that. The 4th quarter miracle in Atlanta. The
perfect 4th quarter against UVA. The 4th quarter touchdown pass to Eddie Royal
in the Orange Bowl. Except for the USC game, it seemed like Bryan Randall was
just about perfect in the 4th quarter for the Hokies this year. He led the team
to four 4th quarter wins (Wake, Georgia Tech, UVA and Miami) and was the
definition of clutch. So how good were Randall’s 4th quarter stats?
Well honestly – and surprisingly – they could have been better. Take a
look at the table.
Bryan
Randall's 4th-Quarter Stats, 2004 Season |
Game |
Completed |
Attempted |
Yards |
TD |
INT |
Rush |
Yards |
TD |
Fumbles Lost |
USC |
6 |
13 |
43 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
-13 |
0 |
1 |
Duke |
1 |
4 |
4 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
16 |
0 |
0 |
NC State |
7 |
14 |
126 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
-14 |
0 |
0 |
WVU |
3 |
6 |
26 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
Wake |
1 |
4 |
24 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
45 |
0 |
0 |
GT |
3 |
5 |
159 |
2 |
0 |
3 |
41 |
0 |
0 |
UNC |
0 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
UVA |
5 |
5 |
71 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
16 |
0 |
0 |
Miami |
2 |
5 |
51 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Totals |
28 |
62 |
504 |
4 |
1 |
25 |
97 |
0 |
1 |
(Keep in mind that Randall did not play in the 4th quarter against Western
Michigan, FAMU or Maryland, none of which are listed here, because they were
all blowouts.)
Randall’s touchdown to interception ratio was an outstanding 4:1. Four
touchdowns and only one interception on the season in the 4th quarter. That’s
pretty good, especially the one interception, when we take into consideration
his past history. Besides that interception, Randall only had one other
turnover in the 4th quarter on the season, which was his fumble against USC.
Looking at the table, we see that both of those turnovers came in the first
two 4th quarters that Randall played in this season. So from the NC State game
to the end of the season, Bryan Randall did not turn the ball over in the 4th
quarter. Not even once. It’s probably not a coincidence that Tech only lost
one game in that span and that was by a few inches on a field goal that, had
it been good, would have jumpstarted Randall’s amazing string of wins in the
4th quarter a couple of games early.
Looking at some of the games specifically, I was surprised when seeing that
Randall was 0-6 passing in the 4th quarter against UNC. However, that
statistic deserves an asterisk. Randall had two passes dropped in the 4th
quarter against the Tar Heels, one of which was a deep crossing pattern that
probably would have gone for a long touchdown to Josh Hyman. If Hyman catches
that pass, then Randall comes up big in the 4th quarter yet again.
From a yardage standpoint, the game that sticks out at you is the Georgia
Tech game. Randall completed passes of 28, 80 and 51 yards to Josh Morgan,
Eddie Royal and Josh Morgan respectively. The last two went for touchdowns,
and the first nearly did with Morgan being tackled at the one yard line. The
Hokies converted that one to a field goal, so all three passes that Randall
completed in the 4th quarter led to 17 points for Tech. The 51 yard touchdown
pass to Morgan was set up by a 32 yard run by Randall. From a yardage
standpoint, the 4th quarter of the GT game was Randall’s best through the
air and 2nd best on the ground.
His masterpiece came on November 27 on Senior Day in Blacksburg against UVA
for the Commonwealth Cup. Randall was perfect for the 4th quarter, going 5-5
for 71 yards and a touchdown pass to Josh Hyman. The touchdown pass to Hyman,
which was the 2nd time that Randall and Hyman hooked up for a touchdown on the
day, answered a field goal by UVA that had tied the game at 10. The pass put
Tech up 17-10, with the Hokies going on to win 24-10.
Against the Miami Hurricanes, with the ACC Championship on the line,
Randall only completed 2 passes in the 4th quarter, but they were two of the
biggest passes of the season. First he hit Eddie Royal for a 39 yard touchdown
that put Tech up 16-10, then he later hit Jeff King on a 12 yard pass for a
first down that kept the clock running, helping to preserve a Tech victory.
So how does Randall’s 4th quarter performance compare to his overall
performance, as well as his performance in quarters 1-3? Let’s take a look.
Randall's 2004 Stats
4th Quarter vs. Quarters 1-3 |
Statistic |
Quarters 1-3 |
4th Quarter |
Totals |
Completion % |
58.7% |
45.2% |
55.6% |
Yards |
1,461 |
504 |
1,965 |
TDs |
15 |
4 |
19 |
INT |
6 |
1 |
7 |
Rush |
102 |
25 |
127 |
Yards |
369 |
97 |
466 |
Yds/carry |
3.6 |
3.9 |
3.7 |
TDs |
3 |
0 |
3 |
Fumbles Lost |
1 |
1 |
2 |
First of all, his completion percentage in the 4th isn’t nearly as good
as the first 3 quarters of play. He threw 23% of his total
attempts for the season in the 4th quarter, so his attempts were evenly
distributed, from that standpoint. The two drops against UNC would
have raised his completion percentage in the 4th quarter to 48.4%.
Somewhat surprising is that only 4 of Randall’s 22 touchdowns (passing
and running) on the season came in the 4th quarter. They all came in the final
4 games of the season, with the UNC game being the only game in that stretch
that Randall didn’t account for a touchdown in the 4th quarter. It’s kind
of hard to explain why, but do those stats really matter? There is no
statistic that measures whether or not a player comes through when his team
needs him, and that is exactly what Bryan Randall did in 2004.
This season, Randall did whatever it took to win, whether it be putting the
team in a position to win (Wake Forest), throwing the game winning touchdown
pass (GT, UVA, Miami) or just not turning the ball over and preserving a
victory (WVU, UNC). Some of his statistical numbers may not be all that gaudy,
but I guarantee you one thing….Bryan Randall wouldn’t trade this
remarkable season for some nice 4th quarter statistics. After all, the main
statistic that one is judged upon is the number of wins and losses, and
Randall passes that test with flying colors. Randall has four 4th quarter wins
and an ACC Championship, so what do stats matter?
Take Peyton Manning for example. Manning stands just one touchdown pass shy
of tying Dan Marino’s record of 48 in a season. When Manning breaks that
record, and he will, it will be an amazing accomplishment and one that he will
take pride in for the rest of his life. But if the Colts pull an upset or two
and win the Super Bowl this season, I bet the most memorable moment of the
season for Manning will be winning the Super Bowl, not breaking the record. It’s
the same situation for Randall, who broke numerous records at Virginia Tech
this season but no doubt takes more pride in the ACC Championship.
From scapegoat for the past failures of a poor clutch team, to the hero and
leader of the ACC Champions, Bryan Randall has seen and overcome a lot in his
days at Virginia Tech. It's tough being the quarterback who falls in between
the two Vicks, but Randall won in the end. Randall has always been a popular
guy among Tech fans because of the high quality person that he is, and now he
is at the top because of his performances on the field.
Those fans who said Randall’s game experience would pay off for Tech this
season—and admittedly I am not one of those people—were correct. Some guys
just "get it" at different points in their careers. Michael Vick got
it as a redshirt freshman, and Jim Druckenmiller as a redshirt junior. Bryan
Randall didn’t get it until halfway through his senior season, but that has
been enough to make me forget about his first 3.5 years.
I don’t know whether or not Randall is an NFL quarterback. I suspect that
he will get an opportunity to be … after all, Grant Noel and Dave Meyer were
signed to free agent contracts by the Ravens and Colts, respectively. Randall
will at least get the same treatment, and it will be up to him from there. I
don’t know how long he will hang around the NFL or if he will at all, but if
he does, there will be no guy who deserves it more. He’s already overcome a
lot of adversity at Tech, so what’s a little more?
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