When Charlie Ward was at FSU, the coaches noted that he ran the 2-minute offense better than the normal offense. So what did Bobby Bowden do? He switched to a hurry-up offense for the whole game.
Yesterday, we saw Ian Book make clutch and ACCURATE throws during that last drive. He made good decisions. But the playcalling also seemed to be more creative and aggressive.
I made this point several weeks ago, but I think getting burned by Michigan State on the fake field goal a few years ago turned Kelly into a conservative, afraid-to-make-a-mistake coach. We now have players who have to have the right "traits" (i.e., players who make the fewest mistakes) as opposed to real gamebreakers who might make more mistakes but who have a much higher upside (think Dexter Williams, who wasted away on the bench for three years). And Chip Long's playcalling has been the same. Yes, I know there are people who think Kelly is calling all or most of the plays, but I think it's likely more a case of Long following the guidelines Kelly gives him. Maybe that's the equivalent of Kelly running the offense, and I would somewhat agree with that.
But against Duke, why not play on offense to win big instead of not to lose?