Coach's Confidential: Always go for 2?

If you watched Thursday night's college football battle between Minnesota and Oregon State, you saw the Gophers make the unconventional maneuver of going for 2 after a late touchdown put them up 7 points. Minnesota coach Tracy Claeys said afterwards he likes the idea of going for 2 there, believing the other team would kick an extra point and settle for the tie if it came to that, whereas getting the conversion would put the game out of reach.

It's certainly not a passive approach. In the high-school game, where the kicker isn't as reliable as in college or the pros, 2-point conversions in just about every scenario are increasingly popular. That's the subject of this week's Coach's Confidential at The Push.

If a team scores to pull within a point in the final seconds of regulation, it seems more and more coaches are electing to go for 2. Have we reached a point where the extra-point is out the window in these situations, or do you still envision that the majority of teams will continue to go the safe route?

Coach 1: It really comes down to that coach and the his staff’s overall identity in those situations. Some coaches believe the decision changes depending if you are the home or away team and for many other reasons.

Coach 2: I see more teams choosing the two point conversion mainly because it is hard to find a kicker who is near 100 percent. Some years I don't even have a kicker.

Coach 3: It depends on a number of variables and, thus, cannot be answered in an all-encompassing response.

Coach 4: Totally depends on the flow of the game. Can you score? Can you stop them again? Depends on your match ups that given night.

Coach 5: In most circumstances I would kick the PAT but it all depends on the flow of the game, the situation, weather, injuries, etc. We just scored and we have all of the momentum heading into OT – why give this team a chance to get away cheap by letting them win the game with one defensive stop of one play?