The Pigskin
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2013 Week 10 Clips
TECHNICAL NOTE: For those not aware, when viewing these videos in the You Tube window, you can adjust the resolution for a sharper view. Notice in the lower right hand corner of the video player window a setting icon that looks like a gear. Click on that and you can adjust the setting up to 360p, 480p or even 720p in some cases. This will give you a sharper image.
The video page will continue bringing you clips each week which are good teaching material as we all work together to understand and enforce the sometimes complicated NCAA football rules. The videos are not meant to demean or belittle any official. They are used so that ALL officials can learn from the situations and issues other officials encounter in their games. No official has ever completed a career error-free. But by sharing our errors with others we help them avoid the same pitfalls. NCAA football officials at all levels exhibit incredible rule knowledge week in and week out. We can always get better and this page hopes to serve in that effort.
Last week's poll play had a frequent situation where a ball carrier may be stopped, or may not be, and then he loses the ball. Do we rule fumble or forward progress so no fumble? In the most lopsided poll of the season 92% of the crew said forward progress - no fumble. 8% ruled fumble.
Low Blocks - "Crackbacks" As this season nears the regular season conclusion, one of the rule changes for this year that we still do not have good clarity on is the change to blocking below the waist rules that now permits some blocking back towards the original position of the ball by restricted blockers. These were blocks that were illegal for many, many years which is probably why many of us have struggled to comprehend the intent of the rulemakers. Please view this play video and take the poll. (Please remember to scroll down and click on the DONE button after making your choice.)
The Dreaded IW Inadvertent whistles are so feared and despised that many officials refuse to even discuss them, believing that discussing them increases the chances of having one. The reality is that they happen at ALL levels of the game and any official who has never had one is either a brand new official or one who has not worked many games. The rules give us good guidance to follow for those rare moments when we have an IW (or an inadvertent signal that should cause the ball to become dead). In this video play, there are several issues to consider. The first is whether or not the Team A player managed to break the plane of the goal line with the ball before it came loose. This of course is something that IR can help the on-field crew with. It does not appear they ever stepped in to officially review the play. Perhaps they saw enough during the delay caused by the IW that they did not feel a need to intervene. Or, perhaps the IR equipment was malfunctioning. The "clipper" does not know the "why", all that is known is what is seen here. The next issue is was there an IW, and if so, when was it, and then, how it should be handled. Turn your audio up and you will hear a whistle during the return of the ball. It appears the defender is at about the 3 or 4 yard line when that happens. The covering official (the S) was clearly playing what he ruled was a live ball. It appears the H or the R must have whistled. It is not clear why they ruled touchback since the whistle seemed clearly while the ball was in the field of play. Perhaps the official who blew the IW "manned up" and admitted his error and explained he thought a TD had been scored and had whistled to stop play after that.
Horse Collar and Dead Ball Fouls This play was just one of way too many in this game that included dead ball action throughout the game that tested the crew's ability to maintain control. Football officials should not be placed in the position of policing this type of "over the top" extracurricular time and time again. Perhaps the school's conference will step in and take some action after what had to be an embarrassment. A game that should have showcased great athletic performances turned into a terrible display of thuggery time and time again. Kudos to the crew for trying to keep a lid on it. This play demonstrates the penalty enforcement principles for handling live ball fouls followed by multiple dead ball fouls by each team. It is normally recommended that R's not use the phrase "We have.." when making penalty announcements. A simple statement of the foul(s) and penalty(ies) is sufficient.
"Hands to the Face" We have long said that officials should be precise in their announcement language and should use language from the rulebook. In recent years there has been a disturbing increase in the number of officials announcing a "hands to the face" foul. That is NFL language, not NCAA language. Furthermore, officials seem to be inventing signals. There is no need to invent language nor signals. The NCAA rules prohibit most all continuous contact to an opponent's helmet (including the facemask) (9-1-8-a). The correct language is "Continuous contact to the helmet" and the correct signal is signal 38 (personal foul signal) (2013 Rulebook, page FR-113). In these 3 examples from just 1 weekend we see some of the diversity in the announcements. Play 1 Play 2 Play 3 Maybe it is time for the rulemakers to address this and give a signal to officials to use since many seem intent on using their own.
Illegal Formation We do call out our friends in the media booths from time to time here. Far too many of them display a shocking ignorance of the rules of the game for which they are professing to be "experts" . The normal fan may take what they say as factual when it clearly is not. But this video clip is of an announcer who does seem to understand the rule and who does a very good job explaining it, perhaps better than even many clinicians might explain it.
Taking Helmet Off This play shows the correct enforcement for a dead ball foul after the line to gain has not been reached on 4th down. Team B stopped Team A but committed a foul after the play. That 15 yard penalty does not result in a 1st down for Team A. The ball goes over to the defense, and then the penalty is assessed, and then the chains are set. Word of advice to the fouling player here, if you want the crew to think your helmet came off as a result of play or for adjustment (which is likely why he took it off as it does appear to get slightly out of place on the tackle), don't jump up in a taunting style. If he had come up off the ground and immediately started working to adjust the helmet and chinstrap it is doubtful a flag would have been thrown. (Good penalty announcement here - No "We have...."
Batting a Backward Pass Forward A rule that has been in the book for years but is very rarely seen called is the forward batting of a backward pass in flight (9-4-2). Viewers can decide for themselves if this play featured such a batting. The video quality is not sufficient to say definitively one way or the other. But it is easy to see how this play could have easily included that type of batting. The play relied on the QB getting the ball to the RB immediately after he (the QB) received it. The slightest delay in the snap or overly fast move by the RB, and the QB would be forced to bat it forward in a volleyball style bat before he actually controlled the snap. Since this foul is rarely seen, officials are reminded it is a somewhat unique form of batting in that it does NOT carry a loss of down. A great discussion topic over some cold beverages would be why is it legal for the passing team to bat a forward pass forward but it is illegal for the passing team to bat a backward pass forward (if it is still in flight).