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UCLA made it close early into the third quarter against Oregon during the debut of the Pac-12 Championship Game, but the Ducks got it rolling and nearly took the Bruins' heads off — specifically quarterback Kevin Prince's head — on their way to a 49-31 victory at Autzen Stadium on Friday night.
Prince was sacked four times, and the Ducks seemed to be taking target practice on the UCLA junior QB all night long.
But I want to focus on one of the shots Prince took in the second quarter that, when I saw the play in real time, I didn't think was a foul.
But when I saw the replays, I changed my mind.
Here was the situation:
UCLA had the ball, third down and 6 at the Oregon 39-yard line with 1:56 left in the second. Oregon led 35-14. Prince dropped back to pass and took a vicious hit from Dion Jordan for a seven-yard loss.
This is the type of hit rules-makers on all levels are trying to take out of the game. There is helmet-to-helmet contact on Prince, who is considered a defenseless player, even though he had yet to throw the pass.
I originally thought the contact was with Jordan's head up and in the chest, but the replays did show the crown of the helmet made contact in the chin area of Prince.
Interesting that, in the NCAA, it's not a foul to hit a quarterback in the knee area or below like it is in the NFL.
Therefore, it's imperative the defenders lower their target area on the quarterback and make sure they make contact with the shoulder in the chest area or below.
But the Bruins should hold their heads high. They played much better than predicted.
Here's a look at one more play from the Pac-12 Championship — and a bonus play from the MAC Championship as well.
THE SITUATION: UCLA had the ball, fourth down and 1 from the Oregon 23-yard line with 8:44 left in the first quarter. Oregon led 7-0.
THE PLAY: UCLA running back Derrick Coleman rushed the ball close to a first down, but came up inches short.
MY TAKE: This was a really close spot that actually turned out to be less than two inches short.
I got a lot of questions from my Twitter followers, because it looked as if the tip of the ball might have touched the padding area around the pole that holds the chain. By rule, the tip of the ball must actually touch the rod in order to have a first down.
The angle of the camera made it look a bit closer than it was, but it was not a first down. The spot itself was very good by the head linesman, and certainly good enough that there was no reason for the replay official to stop the game to review it any further.
THE GAME: MAC Championship, Ohio vs. Northern Illinois
THE SITUATION: Northern Illinois had the ball, second down and goal at the Ohio 3-yard line with 6:36 left in the second quarter. Ohio led 13-0.
THE PLAY: Northern Illinois quarterback Chandler Harnish, while attempting to throw a pass, was sacked by Noah Keller, fumbled, and the ball was recovered by Ohio. It was ruled a fumble on the field, and after an officials review the play stood as called.
MY TAKE: In the NFL, that would have been an incomplete pass. It would have been the dreaded "Tuck Rule." Thankfully, the NCAA does not have a rule like this.
Harnish clearly had decided not to pass the ball and was bringing it back to his body when his left arm knocked the ball loose. It was ruled a fumble on the field, and replay confirmed the ruling. To me, this is a common-sense rule.
