OT (?) Notre Dame Uncalled Penalty On Field Goal Last Night

Submitted by Craze for Maize on

I saw this on twitter and thought it was worth mentioning on here..

 

 

Upon further review, No. 2 Chris Brown and No. 2 Bennett Jackson were both on the field when Pitt kicker Harper missed the game-winner.

 
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If the Irish had been flagged (they were called for this against Purdue for double No. 15's), it would have been first down Pitt.

Sten Carlson

November 4th, 2012 at 1:44 PM ^

I think the biggest issue with Team 133's inability to run the ball, as compared to last season, is that Mealer <<<<<<<<<Molk.  Block is only part of it, as the center is the "QB of the OL."  I was on the golf course yesterday morning -- wasn't expecting a noon start -- and listened to the game on WOOD.  Branstader was beside himself, especially early on, about how the Michigan OL was getting blown off the L.o.S. and was giving up far too much penetration to Minnesota.

Hard to run when your center is on his ass in the backfield.

TyrannousLex

November 4th, 2012 at 2:06 PM ^

I have a coworker who played center at high Div II and nearly went to the NFL. I've gotten to learn a lot about the O-line this fall. I don't know if UM is doing it right now, but it should work that the C is actually calling the blocking schemes at the line of scrimmage. If he's not getting the defense matched with the scheme correctly, a lot of plays are going to fail.

 

TyrannousLex

November 5th, 2012 at 1:18 AM ^

I read the boards all the time and keep hearing how bad the Oline is, when in terms of talent it's not that bad and not significantly worse than it was last year. The downgrade is the lack of not just Molk, but someone capable of stepping in and leading the Oline/calling the blocking schemes like Molk.

Getting to spend the last few months talking football with an actual offensive lineman has made me realize that very few people who talk football know very much about the offensive line.

Seth

November 4th, 2012 at 5:10 PM ^

Mealer hasn't been a bad center. Not at all. I've seen him make some good plays even against some tough DTs. The difference I think is Molk was a four-year starter and an outstanding student of the game as well as being the best center in the country. Mealer is a first-year starter and probably hasn't picked up the blocking assignments, and the other guys maybe relied upon Molk more than we thought.

Clarence Beeks

November 4th, 2012 at 6:22 PM ^

I think the other part of the problem with the run game is that teams don't respect our passing game. That was most evident yesterday. Once the passing game got going, the running game started to open up a lot more. No doubt, though, this is a transition year for our OL. I don't expect a repeat performance next year.

EricTheActor

November 4th, 2012 at 1:38 PM ^

The missed/bad calls this year seem alarmingly more visible than ever. I'd just chalk the above mentioned missed call up to the continued luck of the Irish. They are formidable this year but it seems they have been propelled by these missed/bad calls all year long.

phork

November 4th, 2012 at 7:43 PM ^

The Stanford no TD call?  Seriously?  They guy was stopped 2 yards behind the goal line.  The ND players were already running away from the line of scrimmage as the whistle had blown.  But lets negate that for one second and say he wasn't stopped and the whistle hadn't blown. 

Before he extended his arms into the end zone, his elbow was clearly visible and down before the ball broke the plain.

M-Wolverine

November 5th, 2012 at 2:21 PM ^

Well, since no one can hear a whistle, and he keeps moving forward, it's not at all obvious that forward progress had been stopped. And since they could actually review it, that just proves it, otherwise it wouldn't be reviewable.

And not even the tv announcers who are as bias as they come see his elbow down...they say he's on top of the other player.  They bring into question whether he loses the ball or not (then decide he hasn't) before he crosses the plane, but man, when even the ND shills at NBC thinks he got in....

And I'm still waiting for the whistle that everyone heard that had all the players running away from the play....because no one on the field or in the booth say they can hear a whistle, and there's like one guy who starts jumping up and down before he's in the endzone...not half the squad like you claim. So all your views are suspect.

phork

November 5th, 2012 at 7:28 PM ^

Of course you can't hear the whistle, the place was on fire.  The side judge was already running in to call him down.  His elbow is down, as you can see in the replay, just before he pushes forward.  If you cannot see forward progress stopped, then I can't help you.  If you can't see Teo and Motta and a few others running down the field off the pile, I can't help you.  Calling Mayock an ND shill is just mind boggling.  The guy is one of the best color guys in the game.

Seth

November 6th, 2012 at 8:53 PM ^

Oh you guys. Seriously, lock the thread here because I mean once Maycock's not an ND shill what in the world can't you argue? Blue is actually taupe. No calls can ever be overturned ever because there is literally no evidence in the world that Notre Dame fans can't dispute.

M-Wolverine

November 6th, 2012 at 12:14 PM ^

It never shows him down, the guy doing the analysis says they should have let the play continue, and it doesn't actually show anything that proves the whistle was blown.  If the whistle HAD been blown they couldn't have reviewed the play.  The only thing it say/shows is what the refs said. There wasn't enough evidence to overturn what was called on the field, not that the call on the field was confirmed. If it was the wrong call on the field, it was still the wrong call.  Which is the point.  Whistle even if it had been blown should never have been blown, he wasn't down, and he ended up with the ball in the endzone.

Mmmm Hmmm

November 4th, 2012 at 1:39 PM ^

Kudos to the ND Rivals guys on the tweets pointing out a lucky non-call.  ND benefitted and should have lost, but hey, human officials.  For the same reason that I think Leveon Bell's tweet about officials costing him the game is sour grapes, ND's win is ND's win.

NOLA Wolverine

November 4th, 2012 at 1:47 PM ^

Of all of the things to get a no-call on, this isn't that big of a deal. 

The play of the day was the phantom PI call that gave ND a first down on a missed 4th down conversion that led to their score. They don't go to OT without that. 

bklein09

November 4th, 2012 at 2:09 PM ^

Another huge missed call was the punch thrown by an ND player right before the Pitt field goal that would have ended it. It was way after the play and two players were jawing at each other. Then the ND guy just punches the Pitt guy in the face. It was right in the center of the screen and right in front of two refs. 

That SHOULD have been a 15 yarder and essentially ended the game, making the FG a glorified extra point. It was the kind of thing that players often get ejected for or even retroactively suspended. And to make it even better, the ND player who threw the punch got a sack in the following OT. Awesome. 

Captain

November 4th, 2012 at 3:42 PM ^

Reason it's kind of a big deal: unlike many penalties (like holding or pass interference, which are called or not called based upon rarely uniform shades of severity), this is a black-and-white five yard penalty.

It's like having 12 men on the field. There's simply no room for differing opinions, a late-game "let them play" attitude, or referee bias. When every referee in the stadium watched Iowa defensive back B.J. Lowery tackle Roundtree in the end zone last year before the ball arrived, the non-uniformity inherent in PI calls helped justify the no-flag. This is different.

That said, you're right that there were a number of bad calls this game, and this one is minor in that the infraction offered ND no competitive advantage.

ziggolfer

November 5th, 2012 at 12:08 AM ^

This thread is hard to take because I wanted this game so bad. We always play well against ND, and I would have loved to see this overrated team lose. I feel shame that Pitt is moving to the ACC, but I can't help but feel it's the best decision for them. Thanks for everyone who pointed out everything they saw. It justifies what I felt when I watched it. 

SWFLWolverine

November 4th, 2012 at 2:11 PM ^

After the 2nd down play of that same drive, the NT Nix from ND appeared to punch a Pitt OL in the head. Obviously it wasn't called and I didn't hear the broadcasters mention a word.  Did I imagine this?

Sten Carlson

November 4th, 2012 at 2:21 PM ^

ND has recevied a great deal of help to keep their charmed season alive.  Whether it's whistles from the stand, phantom calls, or no calls, it seems like it's always Christmas in South Bend these days.