When in doubt, go to the rule book. Right?
Well, that normally would be the case, except when there’s not a clear ruling in the NCAA rule book.
Here was the situation:
Missouri had the ball, first-and-10 from the Texas A&M 11-yard line with 1:09 left in the second quarter. Texas A&M led 28-14. Missouri quarterback James Franklin attempted a pass that was incomplete as he was being tackled by A&M’s Sean Porter. The officials first ruled that Franklin’s knee was down before he released the pass. After a review, the call was changed to an incomplete pass and the clock was reset to 1:04.
And here is where it gets confusing.
I went on the air saying this play was not reviewable. Yet, the decision got reviewed and reversed to an incomplete pass.
My crew and I then scoured the rule book and looked at every written rule interpretation regarding instant replay, and nothing covers this play specifically. Yet, I found it hard to believe that the play was reviewable.
Then I went to the phones, checking with several people in the college officiating business, to see if I could get some clarity. Most of the people I talked to felt that this play was not reviewable. But they couldn’t pinpoint it to an exact rule reference. Well, after getting confirmation from the several people I talked to, it turns out this play was not reviewable.
Logic tells you that this play was not reviewable, because what if you reversed this to an incomplete pass and then there was clear intentional grounding? You couldn’t add a flag for intentional grounding, since that aspect of the play would not be reviewable.
A runner ruled to be down, who fumbles, can be reviewed. You can give the ball to the recovering team if there is a clear recovery. A quarterback pass-fumble also is reviewable, even if the referee ruled an incomplete pass. However, this falls into a different category because you are reviewing a runner being down, rather than a pass being thrown.
Instant replay still is relatively new, and the rules are very complicated. And, by the way, the play in question had no consequence on the outcome of the game, a great game won by Missouri in overtime.
Let’s take a look at some of the other interesting plays from Saturday’s early games.
THE SITUATION: Nebraska had the ball, second-and-goal from the Michigan State 1-yard line with 9:32 left in the third quarter. Nebraska led 10-3.
THE PLAY: Nebraska running back Rex Burkhead rushed the ball for a yard and fumbled on the goal line. The ball was recovered by Michigan State. After a review, the replay official overturned the ruling on the field, saying that Burkhead was down and it was a touchdown before he fumbled.
MY TAKE: A big play in replay, but clearly Burkhead had control of the ball in his hand and broke the plane prior to his forearm hitting the ground. That makes it a touchdown, regardless of what happened after that, in terms of the ball coming loose. It could not have been a fumble, regardless. Because the ball didn’t come out until the forearm hit the ground. A ruling of a fumble, reversed to a touchdown, is huge in replay. The right call ended up being made, which is what replay is supposed to be about.
THE SITUATION: Virginia Tech had the ball, third-and-8 from its own 35-yard line with 9:56 left in the fourth quarter. Virginia Tech led 14-10.
THE PLAY: Tech quarterback Logan Thomas attempted a pass to Danny Coale that was intercepted by Duke’s Matt Daniels. After a review, the play was reversed to an incomplete pass.
MY TAKE: This was a good reversal, even though the ball never touched the ground. When I watched the play in real time, I thought it was an interception because Daniels’ butt hit the ground in bounds before he rolled over and out of bounds. Although the ball didn’t hit the ground, Daniels did lose possession as he was rolling over and did not regain possession until he had touched out of bounds. That essentially means it was a loose ball touching a player who was out of bounds — therefore, making the pass incomplete.
THE GAME: Arkansas at Vanderbilt
THE SITUATION: Arkansas had the ball, fourth-and-13 at the Arkansas 22-yard line. There was no score.
THE PLAY: Arkansas’ Dylan Breeding punted 36 yards to the Vanderbilt 32, with no return. A penalty was called on Vanderbilt’s Casey Hayward.
MY TAKE: How many know what "PSK'' means? It actually stands for a post-scrimmage kick enforcement. Ironically, the rule is pretty much the same in the NFL, but they call it a post-possession enforcement. This is a foul by the receiving team during the kick. The foul is enforced from one of three spots: the end of the kick, the spot of the foul or the dead-ball spot, whichever is farthest back. The receiving team gets to keep the ball after the enforcement because it was deemed to get the ball with "clean hands.'' Possession actually changed after the kick ball crossed the line of scrimmage. The only difference is that the spot of the foul in the NCAA must be more than 3 yards or more beyond the line of scrimmage. In the NFL, it makes no difference where the spot of the foul is.
THE SITUATION: Michigan State had the ball, first-and-10 from the Nebraska 17-yard line with 2:39 left in the second quarter. Nebraska led 10-0.
THE PLAY: Michigan State quarterback Kirk Cousins attempted a 17-yard pass to Keshawn Martin, and Nebraska’s Austin Cassidy was called for defensive pass interference. Before the next snap, the officials changed the call to defensive holding. Michigan State then was given a first-and-goal from the Nebraska 8.
MY TAKE: Not sure what happened here, but it did raise a bit of chatter on Twitter. Defensive pass interference was first announced, but the announcers were right when they said the pass was uncatchable, and that the only foul on the play could be defensive holding. The officials then huddled and did change the call to defensive holding. When you look at the play, the hold occurred just as Cousins was set to release the ball. Defensive holding was really the only call that could have been made. It was good communication by the crew to recognize that pass interference was not a possibility.
THE GAME: Arkansas at Vanderbilt
THE SITUATION: Arkansas had the ball, fourth-and-19 at its own 38-yard line with 9:32 left in the third quarter. Vanderbilt led 21-17.
THE PLAY: Arkansas' Dylan Breeding punted 36 yards, and as Vanderbilt’s Jonathan Krause was attempting to field the kick, he was leveled by Arkansas’ Marquel Wade. Vanderbilt’s Kenny Ladler picked up the ball and returned it 24 yards to the 50-yard line. A personal foul was called on Wade and the penalty was declined. Wade was ejected.
MY TAKE: Kudos to referee Mark Curles and his crew for ejecting Wade. There’s not a more defenseless player than a receiving-team member looking up in an attempt to field a kick. He expects not to be hit until after he has made the catch. I love the ejection because it likely takes away any thought of retaliation. As soon as you saw the play end, you could see Vanderbilt’s players were very upset, as you would expect them to be. The rule book states that flagrant offenders will be disqualified. The officials did exactly what they should have done.
