South Lyon Sparty

September 20th, 2010 at 10:00 PM ^

...the "Tuck Rule" to the list.  Ask Charles Woodson.

But as for the O.T. FG at MSU, a clock keeper would have nothing to do with what happened.  The call is either made, or it isn't.  They made the play, no call... game over.  Lots of incidents like that throughout a game.  This one happened to come at the end.

Here's to two undefeated teams meeting in Ann Arbor in just over two weeks.  It would be worth the show.

plaidflannel

September 20th, 2010 at 3:35 PM ^

Honestly, I thought the play clock gaffe was much worse live.  After watching the video for 79th time, it really isn't a big enough disparity to get angry about no flag (unless I was a Notre Dame fan).  Helluva play call.

TrppWlbrnID

September 20th, 2010 at 3:35 PM ^

i heard there is some kerfuffle about the place holder's knee being down, but did not hear any rule quoted about why that doesn't count as being down.  i have looked, but can't find the actual rule or ruling.  did anyone else hear or see this?

Blue Bunny Friday

September 20th, 2010 at 3:38 PM ^

The reason is because of Rule 4-1-3(b, exception).  This rule creates the exception to the ball being declared dead when a player's knee is down touching the ground. The exception applies only to the HOLDER when an offensive player kicks or simulates kicking the ball for a place kick (Field Goal).  By rule the ball may be advanced, kicked or passed.



In college football the hold may place his knee on the ground and the ball is not declared dead.

goblue418

September 20th, 2010 at 3:59 PM ^

the whole lag-clock rule is bull. time is kept on the field now so they dont have to look at the scoreboard. the playclock on the board was started when the ref signaled it so it should be accurate. msu got away with one

Section 1

September 20th, 2010 at 6:38 PM ^

As for this line -- I have been seeing this meme all over the Sparty boards:

"...time is kept on the field now so they dont have to look at the scoreboard."

And it is, I think, untrue.  I don't think that there is any "different" or "other" time being kept on the field.  I looked at NCCA Rule 3-2 Article 4, and a careful read does not indicate that there is a guy on the field keeping a different clock.  The rule specifically empowers the referees and the stadium "managment" to run the game clock and the play clock with an off-field official.  Which, as a practical matter, everybody does.

The clock we saw on ESPN was the same as the scoreboard claock, and that was the one, only, "real" clock, and it got to :00 before the ball was snapped, whatever anybody wants to make of that.

Scotthany

September 20th, 2010 at 4:14 PM ^

I spent most of the day getting to or from Neyland Stadium for the Florida game, and the first thought when seeing this was "There's no way anyone saw this live." If one slows down the footage and watches, the exact margin between the clock hitting zero and the snap of the ball is something like a fifth of a second or so. An official is standing right over the play in full sight of a functioning play clock behind the offense. No Notre Dame coaches protested the call at the time, and none have protested it since. DVR has created a new, more exacting kind of viewer than those sitting in the stadium, where so much is going on at once that fine fractions like these go completely unnoticed.

 

The downside comes with making the natural--and this next part is important--necessarily forgivable portions of game officiating. We're not talking about in bounds versus out of bounds, or what constitutes a catch, but the areas of officiating where even in game there are understandable buffers: a fraction of a second (see: Big 12 Championship Game 2009) or a shadow of an inch on ball spots. While it's not soccer and the card system, football officials do employ a certain amount of human error at all times in football. DVR makes it that much easier to spot those from the godlike eye of the camera, and--this will burn us personally later when Florida is screwed on a call, but here it comes--that much more necessary to forgive the truly imperceptible marginal errors. 

He is a good writer.  Now go read this weeks Alphabetical:  http://www.sbnation.com/2010/9/20/1698683/the-alphabetical-week3

RONick

September 20th, 2010 at 4:26 PM ^

The play clock wasn't a bad call.big deal.  The worst one, in my opinion, was how Cunningham's TD wasn't called back.  He wasn't touched by the corner as he ran out of bounds, he simply ran out to avoid him... THAT is not being forced out and should not count imho.  I am not positive on the rule here, but I believe that the defender has to physically force the receiver out for him to be allowed to catch the ball.  I don't believe that this was the case Saturday night.

mtzlblk

September 20th, 2010 at 6:51 PM ^

The clock read zero and right or wrong, the big East refs threw no flag...? Their response to the handling of it seems reasonable to me.

I fail to see how pointing a finger at MSU impropriety even works in this case?

If it were a Spartan Bob-like transgression, wouldn't the time keeper have started the playclock late or somehow slowed the clock down to be sure to avoid a delay of game penalty and thusly the clock would never have reached zero?

But it did, so....

MGoBender

September 20th, 2010 at 10:01 PM ^

Even considering all this (FTR: I agree 100% with the Big East's explanation of the play), the entire point of penalizing a team is because they are gaining an unfair advantage.  Snapping the ball 1/5 of a second late gains no advantage whatsoever.  It doesn't as all affect the fairness of the game, especially in OT when there's no game clock.  It's not even worth discussing.