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2013 Week 7 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 looked at a situation related to this season's rule change for certain types of dead ball fouls. In the past, when players engaged in "non-football related" activity after the ball became dead, they could be flagged and charged with dead ball personal fouls. Most of those fouls this year should now be called "unsportsmanlike conduct". While the penalty yardage is the same, 2 unsportsmanlike conduct fouls by a team member in uniform results in an automatic disqualification. The video play showed an example of what can happen after the ball becomes dead and asked viewers if they judged the act to be personal foul, unsportsmanlike conduct, or something else. 193 of our "crew" answered the poll question and 45% said "Personal Foul" , while 19% said "unsportsmanlike conduct" and 37% said, not surprisingly, nothing. The action was very close to the end of the play and it could legitimately be argued the player was performing a football-related act.
Roughing The Passer There are few fouls in this game which are limited to just 1 official making the call. Roughing the passer is one of the few. This is a foul that is only flagged by referees (or maybe also by "Alternate Referees" in the Big XII ??). Despite the fact there is a very small segment of our total official population that makes this call, there is still inconsistency in the call. The rules protect passers in 2 ways. The targeting rules define a player who has just passed the ball or is in the act of passing it as a defenseless player. That protects him from someone targeting and initiating contact to his head or neck area with some body part (hand, arm, fist, etc). (9-1-4) Secondly, a player who has passed the ball is protected from being charged into or thrown to the ground when "it is obvious the ball has been thrown." (9-1-9) In this second rule, officials do not always agree about when "it is obvious the ball has been thrown" should start after the pass. Does the defender get 1 step after the ball is released that he can legally hit the QB? Does he get half a step? The confusion is compounded by different guidance from conference supervisors around the land. While it is understandable that passers might warrant some extra protection to their vulnerable position after releasing the ball, they do wear pads and are considered players just like the other 21 out there. Adding some more confusion is the apparent philosophy to classify certain personal fouls against the passer before or as he passes (i.e. targeting) as roughing the passer which can permit a significantly more serious penalty to be assessed for the hit than if the same hit happened to most any other player. How much protection do you give them? Please view this play video and take the poll. (Please remember to scroll down and click on the DONE button after making your choice.)
Intentional Grounding Another foul that is on the R's shoulders alone (although he can get some help from his colleagues at times) is intentional grounding. This is a rule that has undergone some significant change in recent years. A common discussion point among R's is that is near impossible to have an intentional grounding foul these days as passers are given more and more leeway to dump the ball to avoid yardage losses. However there some times when there is no way out of it, the flag must be thrown. In this play, it is likely many officials would NOT have flagged the QB had he lofted the ball across the sideline and into the stands instead of where he did. Kudos to the announcers who did seem to understand this rule. (7-3-2-h and AR 7-3-2-I) This is a 2d intentional grounding play with an explanation as to why there was no foul. A87 was in the same zip code as where the ball landed so perhaps that is enough to justify no flag. Of course had he actually been close enough to catch the ball, A87 would have been 6 feet out of bounds but apparently that is enough to bail out the passer.
Numbering Exception Officials know Team A is required to have 5 players numbered 50 - 79 on the line of scrimmage during normal plays from scrimmage ((7-1-4-a-3). There is an exception when Team A is in a scrimmage kick formation, and even then, there are many restrictions on how the players can be aligned before and at the snap. A scrimmage kick formation is defined as one where at least 1 player is 7 or more yards behind the neutral zone, no player in a position to receive a hand-to-hand snap from between the snapper's legs, and it is obvious that a kick may be attempted. (2-16-10) Just because a team has their "field goal unit" in for the play does not mean they are automatically in a scrimmage kick formation regardless of how they line up. In this video, there is 1 player 4-5 yards behind the neutral zone and it IS a 4th down play from the B27 but is this a "scrimmage kick formation"? If not, they must have 5 players numbered 50-79 on the line of scrimmage at the snap. Since they have their long snapper (A85) in for the play, they do not have 5 players numbered 50-79 on the line of scrimmage. Remember the mantra: If a team is trying a trick play, they must follow all the rules PRECISELY.
Blocking Below the Waist Observe the Team A player in the middle of the wall protecting the kicker. The blocking below the waist rules have undergone many changes in recent years. However, one facet of the rule that has NOT changed in quite a few years is the part that prohibits Team A players from blocking below the waist at any point during a down which includes a scrimmage kick. Perhaps if we added a 3d official back there in the offensive backfield we would be able to catch this foul.
Sometimes We Catch Them... Pretty obvious end of game dead ball frustration foul. Apparently the crew saw the act as "football-related" and a part of the continuing action as they called it a personal foul instead of unsportsmanlike conduct foul. EDITED: As a very astute viewer in Beantown pointed out, this situation also should have called for the Zap-10. The dead ball foul caused the clock to stop with :44 seconds left in the game. It is likely The offended team would have elected the Zap-10 if given the option. And Sometimes We Don't A77 got away with one here (and possibly even skirted a DQ since his hit appears to be targeting)
"Hair Collar" Tackle Ouch!!!! This had to hurt in more ways than one. Good work to the crew to get this right. It surely looked bad at first but is legal under the current rules.
Best Wishes to Terry Walters Next to the umpires, the flank officials have the most dangerous position on the field. They are frequently sandwiched between the crush of a team in the team area and the action that is coming at them from the field at breakneck speed. We hope the SEC's Terry Walters was not seriously injured in this mishap and hope to see him on the field again soon!! (A word of advice to all alternates...you really MIGHT have to take over so it is not a bad idea for you to keep your whistle handy so you do not have to borrow the R's. )