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Billy Napier’s Cowardly Decision To Kick Extra Point During Loss To App State Can Be Explained By PTSD

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Billy Napier Two-Point Conversion App State Boone
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Billy Napier had a severe case of PTSD during the college football game against App State on Thursday night. The head coach at James Madison chose not to go for two (and the win) at the end of regulation and the Dukes went on to lose during overtime.

His decision ultimately cost them a chance to play for a national title.

Napier might’ve flashed back to a college football game in 2002. The circumstances were eerily similar.

James Madison did not go for two against App State.

The former head coach at the University of Florida was hired to replace Bob Chesney during the offseason. He won his first seven games of the season to put James Madison University in position to make the College Football Playoff if it went undefeated.

Unfortunately, the Dukes lost their rivalry game in Boone on Thursday.

There are two things to blame for the loss: a new poop curse and Billy Napier. They are equally as deserving but I am only going to focus on the latter. Napier made a few questionable decisions that contributed to the final result. It started in the second quarter.

James Madison faced a 4th-and-2 from App State’s 30-yard-line. Napier decided to kick a 48-yard field goal instead of trying to pick up the first down even though his kicker had a career long of 42 yards. The field goal was blocked.

And then James Madison had the ball at their own 25-yard-line with 54 remaining in the second quarter. The Dukes, leading 14-10, had two timeouts remaining but Napier did not try and score and took the four-point lead into the locker room. No points.

Napier made his most contentious decision at the end of the fourth quarter. James Madison scored a touchdown with three seconds remaining. Down by one point, the Dukes could’ve won the game with a two-point conversion. They kicked the extra point instead.

When asked about his decision, Napier said that he did think about going for two. He ultimately decided to carry the momentum into overtime.

The 47-year-old also explained the uninspiring offensive drive right before halftime.

“It was a little bit sensitive to the fact that they’ve got two timeouts and that they can cause some issues. … If I’m not mistaken, we get to a third-and-1 scenario and ultimately didn’t — there was 9 seconds left — didn’t feel like we could get it into field goal range at that point.”

Both decisions proved costly. James Madison lost its first game of the season.

Did Billy Napier have PTSD?!

App State used to compete on the FCS level of Division I college football in the Southern Conference. Furman was (and still is) also a member of the Southern Conference. They were rivals.

Billy Napier played quarterback for the Paladins in the early 2000s. He lost to the Mountaineers in Boone on Oct. 12, 2002.

Furman scored a 13-yard touchdown to take a 15-14 lead with under ten seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. Head coach Bobby Lamb decided to go for two. His starting quarterback, Napier, threw an interception.

The App State player who made the interception proceeded to lateral the ball to his teammate. His teammate scored a touchdown to win the game 16-15. It is known as the ‘Miracle on the Mountain.’ Fans stormed the field.

Perhaps this explains Napier’s decision not to go for two in Boone at the end of regulation. He already lived that nightmare and he didn’t want to live it again. This time, however, it proved to be the wrong decision. App State will haunt him forever.