4th and 20

It's not every day I get to see my Alma Matter, Miami University, play in a championship game. Last week, they squared off in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) Championship against the 25th ranked (and undefeated) Northern Illinois Huskies. I picked up the game late in the 4th quarter with Miami (Redhawks) down 21-20.

For those of you who don't know, Miami is located in Ohio and was founded as a college in 1809, years before the city of Miami (FL) was incorporated, much less the university of the same name. Lest I digress!

With less than 2 minutes left in the game, the Redhawks got the ball back and started to drive down the field. They were pushed back, the quarterback was sacked, a long pass went incomplete leading to 4th and 20 with just under a minute to play and no time outs. Austin Boucher, the quarterback, set up in the shot gun and threw the ball into coverage. One Huskie went for the interception while another tackled the first receiver allowing Redhawks receiver Chris Givens to make the catch and gain 31 yards and a first down. Two plays later, Miami scored the winning touchdown and held the Huskies for the last 33 seconds to win.

An improbable championship for an overachieving team! Last year they were 1-11. This year, 9-4 and a trip to the GoDaddy.com Bowl on January 6th. This is a resilient team that plays hard every down and creates opportunities for themselves. Never once did they look like they were going to lose-not even on 4th and 20!

How does your team react in the face of adversity? What if your backs were against the wall-would you rally or fold and try again another day? Many teams fold, though they don't admit it. Many don't set the bar high enough so there is less difficulty. Last week's win by Miami is a perfect metaphor for life and business in general. Set the bar high and work your fannies off to surpass it. Congratulations to the Redhawks and on to Mobile!