Sam Pittman breaks down elements of a good 2-point conversion play

Running a two-point play is always a risk. Against Ole Miss in 2021, Sam Pittman chose to run a two-point conversion late in the game but it didn’t work. In the end, it cost Arkansas the game. Other times, though, two-point conversions can help teams climb back in and steal wins.

During his weekly SEC teleconference, Sam Pittman was asked about what makes a good two-point conversion play.

“Well, a lot of times, you’re looking at leverage,” Sam Pittman said. “If you’re throwing the football, you’re looking at leverage. I like a two-point play where you have a run-pass option off of it, but the first thing you’re doing is looking at matchups, I think, in throwing it.”

CLICK HERE to subscribe for FREE to the On3 YouTube channel

“I like to run the ball a lot. Obviously, we’ve done that. We’ve also gone shovel pass and rolled out and different things, but three yards you’re expecting–you look at the box numbers, and if the box number is there and you feel like you can block them, then you know, you’ll run it,” Sam Pittman explained.

Importantly, Sam Pittman pointed out that two-point conversion plays shouldn’t take you out of your offense too much. You just have to deal with a compressed field. However, teams already have short-yardage plays to run.

“If not–it’s not a whole lot different than a normal play that you would be check to check. The difference is you don’t have the space, and certainly, your DBs aren’t playing off as much and things of that nature. You’ve got to be able to win one-on-one matchups. You’re not getting zone-type coverage at that point. And, so, those are the things that we look at.”

Arkansas is still fighting for a bowl bid. It will be interesting to see what Sam Pittman runs if he needs to convert a two-point conversion against Brian Kelly and LSU.

Sam Pittman praised Brian Kelly for going for 2

In overtime of LSU’s win over Alabama, Brian Kelly decided to go for a two-point conversion and the win, instead of tying the game on an extra point and playing another overtime period. It was a risky move, but it’s also one that Sam Pittman respected.

“You know guys, I think a lot of guys would do different stuff if they didn’t worry about coming in here after it didn’t work, you know what I mean?” Sam Pittman said.

“Whenever he called it, it was like that’s the thing to do, get the game over with. If you’re saying, ‘We can beat Alabama from the 3-yard line we can beat them and they can’t do anything about that,’ that’s what he did, and it worked. But it takes guts to do that now.”