It is on the coach to realize that the other coach is “dirtying up” the game and trying to burn clock in order to have a chance in the second half.
It is also on the coach to realize that his star running back is unstoppable and that is the antidote to the above paragraph.
He didn’t and we lost.
Defenses that are on the field for 30 plus minutes, in the last game of the season, are understandably gassed. These leads to less than stellar defensive outcomes in the next 10 minutes they still have to play.