2011 Season Week 8 Clips
Horse Collar Tackle ? This play has created considerable discussion among officials as well as within the fan base of one particular school. Since the inception of a horse collar tackle rule in the NCAA several years ago there has been diverse opinion of what acts should be flagged and which should not be. The key points that have to be present for there to be a foul are a grabbing of the inside collar of the back or side of the jersey or shoulder pads and an immediate pull-down of the ball carrier. (9-1-15) After you have viewed the video please take the poll below.
Catch or Not ?
Although the rules (2-4-3-a) only require a player have possession of the ball
while touching the ground inbounds, the philosophy (and AR's) taught to college
officials is that a player who is falling to the ground must do more. The
player must demonstrate he has possession by maintaining a firm grasp on the
ball throughout his fall to the ground out of bounds (AR 7-3-6-XI). However, if
he falls to the ground inbounds (field of play or end zone), the receiver can
loose firm control of the ball, but he must not let the ball touch the ground
(AR 7-3-6-X).
Penalty Enforcement and Explanation This is a great example of a somewhat unusual penalty enforcement and a great explanation provided by the R. The foul by Team B was behind the neutral zone and the run ended behind the neutral zone. It is not unusual for the Team B coaches in this situation to insist the foul be enforced from the end of the run but that would be incorrect. (10-2-2-c-3 and 10-2-2-d-1-a)
Intentional Grounding ? To avoid a foul for intentional grounding, when trying to conserve yardage, a passer must either throw the ball to an area where there is an eligible Team A receiver or be outside the tackle box and throw the ball such that it crosses or lands beyond the NZ extended. (7-3-2-h) The viewers can judge for themselves if any of these conditions were met on this play.
DPI ? A "what if" play that has been discussed time after time is a pass play with an apparent defensive pass interference but the ball is cut off in advance of the contact by another player. Is this still defensive pass interference? And if it is not DPI, could it still be defensive holding?
Illegal Motion or False Start ? Sometimes a back in motion will turn upfield just before the snap and be going forward when the ball is snapped. Covering officials must judge whether to call this illegal motion (a live ball foul) or false start (a dead ball foul). (7-1-2-b-1 & 7-1-4-b-1) There is a philosophy that says to treat plays like this as illegal motion as it would give the defense a chance to make a great play and therefore decline the penalty (illegal motion). There is also a philosophy that says to shut plays like this down before they get going (false start) as no good can come from letting it proceed. What would you do? Another play that is somewhat similar is a stationary back who starts forward just before the snap. Illegal Motion or False Start 2 (Illegal shift is announced but illegal motion is signaled)
Kick Catch Interference on a KO The increasing use of "pooch" kicks on kickoffs means there are more and more potential kick catch interference fouls on kickoffs. Since the kick often comes down in an area with no covering official nearby, crews must have pre-arranged their coverage for these situations. In this play, a crew of 5 caught the foul (although the spot of foul was missed by @ 5 yards) The R's announcement implies this was a foul due to the fair catch signal given by the receiver although the interference is a foul, regardless of whether there was a fair catch signal or not. (6-4-1)
Blocking Below the Waist Illegal blocking below the waist is a safety foul and MUST be called even if the block has no impact on the play. The F in this crew does a great job of recognizing and flagging the foul by his key.
Band Noise Bands are subject to the rules and are prohibited from making noise that prohibits a team from hearing its signals. (9-2-1-b-5). This R chose to warn the band although he could have penalized the band's team 15 yards in this situation.