The Pigskin
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2014 Post-Season Clips (1)
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.
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The video page will continue bringing you clips which are good learning 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.
Our last poll looked at the roughing the passer (low hits) rule. 84% judged the hit in the college game to be a foul. Only 2% judged the hit in the HS game to be a foul. The majority of the comments received on the HS play indicated we did not see the hit as forcible, and it was above the knee, and it was due in large part to the block by the Team A player.
It seems like almost every edition of our video clip collections features an onside kickoff. Time and time again we have seen officials miss kick catch interference, early blocking, and early touching of the kicks. There is so much going on so quickly and in such a limited area that we are seriously challenged to see and process everything that has taken place. Officials talk about "pre-snap routines" where they mentally review all the key considerations they need to be attuned for as a play is set to begin. Do you have "pre-kick routines" where you quickly review the many things you need to be concerned with during kickoffs, especially short free kicks (onside and pooch kicks)? This week we look at another onside kick and examine what happened. Many teams use onside kick plays designed to have some of the kicking team players block the opponent to prevent them from getting to the "free ball." This is legal , IN SOME CASES. When can Team A block the opponent on free kicks? 6-1-12 says Team A cannot block an opponent until they (Team A) are eligible to touch a free-kicked ball. When are they eligible to touch such a ball? 6-1-3-a says: 1 - After it touches a Team B player (except for forced touching or when the player is completing a fair catch); or 2 - after it breaks the plane of and remains beyond Team B's restraining line (except if the touching would also be kick catch interference); or 3 - After it touches anything beyond the Team B restraining line. Please look at the clip and then vote in our poll. Should there have been flags down? (Please remember to scroll down and click on the DONE button after making your choice.)
We report, you decide. You will recall from our last edition, this year's rule change giving passers and potential passers additional protection is still a work in progress as officials work to understand the intent of the rulemakers. As a reminder, the rule (9-2-9-b) says: " When an offensive player is in a passing posture with one or both feet on the ground, no defensive player rushing unabated shall hit him forcibly at the knee area or below. " Exception 3 says: "It is not a foul if the defender is not rushing unabated or is blocked or fouled into this opponent." From where we sit it appears the defender was not unabated, and in fact, the contact from the blocker may have even taken him off balance and caused the low hit.
The CFO memo published this Summer which directed crews to give an "official warning" for sideline infractions prior to assessing any penalty yardage is not supported by the rulebook. Perhaps there will be a change made in the rule this Spring to put that "warning" back into the process like it had been years ago. But one thing the memo did not change as far as we know is the rule regarding what is legal and what is illegal with regards to the sidelines. The "Game Administration Interference" section of the rules (9-2-5) addresses when persons intrude into the restricted zone (which is the area from the sideline to the coaching box line) or onto the field of play. The rule prohibits this intrusion WHILE THE BALL IS ALIVE AND DURING THE CONTINUING ACTION AFTER THE BALL HAS BEEN DECLARED DEAD. It does not prohibit persons from being in there prior to the snap. In the video play, it appears the official flagged someone for being in that one prior to the snap. There actually is no foul if that is when they were in there. There is another rule that prohibits the team area personnel from being on the field of play anytime (9-2-1-b-1). But that rule does not carry any "official warning" or escalating seriousness of penalty like 9-2-5 does.
This play is a good example of a situation when the offended team could choose to decline the 10-second subtraction which is part of the penalty for a foul that causes the clock to stop in the last minute of a half. Initially the Referee did not appear to be considering the Zap 10 potential as he quickly gave the penalty announcement. We were not able to make out his second announcement but it appears the offended team declined the 10 second subtraction. In accordance with 3-4-4-c, since there was no 10 second subtraction, the game clock was correctly not started until the snap.
Since the time the 40-second play clock came into the game, we have had to deal with strange situations that can happen when the play clock is running but we are not permitting the offense to snap the ball. It could be that Team A substituted and we are giving Team B a chance to match up or it could be that the crew is still getting into position after the previous play. Regardless of why, the fact remains, as long as the Umpire (or Center Judge) are communicating with the snapper and ordering him not to snap the ball even though the play clock is running, we have the potential for odd situations. This video is an example of one. The quarterback was ready to go and apparently signaled his team to start the play, even though the snapper was being prevented form snapping the ball. 2-2-4-a says a ball is ready for play when a 40-second clock is running as soon as the official places the ball on the ground at or between the hashes AND STEPS AWAY TO HIS POSITION. If he has not stepped away, even if the play clock is running and the ball is on the ground, it is not ready for play. The crew in this play correctly handled the situation as no foul for false start. The ball was not ready for play and according to 7-1-2-b, there can be no false start foul called if the ball is not yet made ready for play.
We have routinely commented on how liberalized the intentional grounding rules have become and how much they favor the offense. At times it seems as long as there is an eligible receiver in the same zip code as the passer, there will be no flag for intentional grounding. But this video clip shows an example of a time when perhaps we should be a bit more forgiving of the passer. The passer appears to be trying to set up and throw a legitimate pass but as he passes he is violently contacted and the pass goes seriously astray. Should we fault the passer for the fact the hit caused him to release the ball in such a manner that it went far form where he intended it to go perhaps? Other viewers may legitimately disagree but from here, it certainly appears the hit is what caused the pass to go haywire.
3-3-2 tells us when to start and stop the game clock. When a runner's forward progress is stopped in the field of play and he is subsequently driven laterally or backwards out of bounds, the clock should not normally be stopped. If the runner goes out of bounds on his own or he is driven forward and out of bounds, the clock should be stopped. In this video clip, time was extremely critical. Perhaps the covering official ruled the ball carrier went out of bounds on his own but it appears he was driven backwards and out of bounds so the clock should not have been stopped.
It is a tough world!
It is a tough world out there for Umpires and for security personnel. They can often be in the wrong place at the wrong time.