The Pigskin
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2013 Week 2 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 is back and with your help and support, 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 survey play featured a targeting call that was overturned by instant replay. We asked you to watch the video and then register your ruling. 55% said the RO was correct to overturn the DQ portion of the penalty. 45% said he was not. This survey produced one of the largest number of explanatory comments ever. For those who are interested in the variety of comments the survey results are available available here.
KCI ? When a Team B player is attempting to catch a kick and is located such that he could catch a kick that is beyond the neutral zone, he must be given an unmolested opportunity to catch the kick (6-4-1-a). The potential returner receives this protection whether or not he signals for a fair catch. If he does signal for a fair catch he receives the normal kick catch protection but he is also protected from being tackled or blocked after he catches the kick. Please view the video and take the poll below. (Please remember to scroll down and click on the DONE button after making your choice.)
Illegal Forward Pass and EZ Many times when a QB is under duress and dumps the ball off to an interior lineman, referees will flag the act but will call it illegal touch of a forward pass by an ineligible receiver. But most of the time when this happens, the ineligible receiver is the only Team A player with any reasonable opportunity to complete the catch. There is no eligible receiver anywhere in the vicinity. When this happens, there has actually been a foul for an illegal forward pass (7-3-2-h). The penalties affixed to each of these 2 fouls are very different and the more severe penalty is the one that should be enforced in most cases. The penalty for the illegal forward pass in this situation is loss of down at the spot of the foul. When that foul spot happens to be in the end zone, it results in a safety being awarded to Team B. If the pass is incomplete and on 4th down decline the safety and be given the ball 1st and 10 at the previous spot. In the video play the referee correctly charged the illegal forward pass and awarded the safety. Kudos to him for not taking the "easy way out" and going with the illegal touching of the forward pass foul. The rules do not allow for this to be called illegal touching of the pass as that is reserved for LEGAL forward passes which this was not.
Illegal Participation/Sub & Instant Replay This video is an example of the ability of the instant replay booth to step in whenever there is a chance a team played with too many players on the field (12-3-5-a). Although the crew elected not to flag Team B as the 12th player ran off the field, Team A's coach challenged the play and the IR booth determined that indeed there were too many Team B players on the field after the snap. This is one of the few times the IR booth effectively "throws a flag" on a play. The departing Team B player was very close to the sideline at the snap. this is a situation where many officials would elect not to flag the foul as there was no real harm to Team A. Unfortunately, the rules make it very possible that discretionary decision will be overturned by the IR booth which does not have the same degree of discretionary authority.
Continued Participation without Helmet In this play, a defender lost his helmet through play (no flag thrown for an act that caused the helmet to come off). The defender pursued the runner for quite a distance, in clear violation of 9-1-17 (Continued Participation Without Helmet). It is noted that even if the helmet comes off due to foul, the helmetless player must stop his participation. 9-1-17 is a Personal Foul, not Unsportsmanlike Conduct. Although both carry the 15 yard penalty with 3 and 1 enforcement, there is a critical difference in that a player can only commit 2 Unsportsmanlike Conduct fouls before he is required to be disqualified. In this game, the same player (B51) committed a true Unsportsmanlike Conduct foul later in the game and was automatically disqualified (incorrectly). Although penalty enforcement is often seen as the purview of the Referee, every member of the crew is responsible to ensure penalties are enforced correctly. This is never truer than when such a serious foul is announced and penalty enforced.
KCI ? Although Team A cannot "directly" interfere with a Team B player's opportunity catch a kick, they can "indirectly" interfere and it is not a foul. This play is a great example of AR 6-4-1-XI.
Penalty Enforcement on Pass Play Officials continue to be challenged by penalty enforcement on pass plays. When a penalty calls for 3 and 1 enforcement and the foul happens during a pass play (the period from the snap until a legal forward pass is complete, incomplete, or intercepted), the Basic Spot is the previous spot (10-2-2-d-3). Fouls by the team not in possession (i.e. the defense) are enforced from the basic spot (10-2-2-c-3). In some cases, this means the offense must choose between a penalty from the previous spot or the result of the play. They do not get the result of the play PLUS the penalty. Roughing the passer is an exception to this rule. In the video play, the offense completed a pass for a very large gain (35+ yards). There was a personal foul by the defense back behind the neutral zone for hands to the face. The Referee initially announced the penalty would be added to the end of the play. Luckily, someone realized that was not correct and no yardage was added to the yards gained on the play. the more accurate description of what took place would have been "The penalty is declined", not that "There is no yardage added to the end of the play".