College football coaches are going for two and converting at the highest rate since the 1970s

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Brent Venables' decision late in the Armed Forces Bowl last December was a sign of the times.

Oklahoma scored a touchdown in the closing seconds against Navy to cut its deficit to 21-20. Rather than kick the extra point and likely force overtime, Venables did what coaches increasingly are doing — he had his team go for two.

Venables said his team had practiced the scenario often, so he had decided that if the game was close enough with fewer than 30 seconds remaining, the Sooners would go for the win. Though Oklahoma had converted just one of four 2-point conversions on the season at that point, he still felt confident.

The Sooners failed, and Navy escaped with the win. Afterwards, Venables said he wouldn’t flinch in the future if a similar situation arose.

“I’d