We've been very good in the middle 8 this year when winning the toss/deferring.
Notre Dame: Scored with 12 seconds left in the first half, got the ball to start the 2nd half, scored again. Scored 14 points without ND touching the ball, an absolute masterclass in middle 8 management (yes, I'm very well aware Daniels made an insane catch, but the process was correct)
USF: We got the ball to start the game.
Florida: We got a field goal with about 1:30 to go in the half, the gators punted, and we got the ball back with under 40 seconds, up 13-0 on a rainy night, on our own 25. Knowing we'd get the ball out of the half, we ran the clock out. Came out of the half, and did score a TD to significantly win the middle eight, but Marty Brown got completely robbed by an egregious call. Again, good process/coaching
FSU: Beck threw a TD to Toney with 4 mins left in the half to take a 21-3 lead, but it was nullified by an awful Marion motion penalty. So we punted, FSU tried to sneak in a score to end the half, our defense stopped it, and we ran out the last 30 seconds of the half. Got the ball after the half, scored on a 10 play, 75 yard drive in 5 minutes to, once again, win the middle eight (essentially).
Louisville: We got a field goal with 2 minutes left to go in the half, and then forced a Louisville punt, that essentially ended the half. Problem here is we got the ball to open the 2nd half, and went three and out. Still won the middle eight, but didn't capitalize fully because the offense had a poor drive. Good process, not great result.
I know it's super cool to **** all over our coach. I mean, it's not, but hey, go nuts. But we need to actually watch the games and comprehend them, at least a little bit. Or at least give it a college try.
Mario has many warts. He's done many dumb things. Playing the middle 8 all year has not been one of those things. We've been excellent. So when you ask "does anyone have confidence in Mario's ability to milk the clock at the end of half, score, then get the ball right back to start the second half in an ideal world how it's supposed to work?", I will answer your question with a question, have you paid any attention at all?