A "what the fuck are you thinking you fucking imbecile?" play if it does not work and the "CALL OF THE YEAR!" if it does work. And this play, known as Little Giants to Michigan State, worked to perfection, giving Michigan State a 34-31 OT victory over Notre Dame.
Now I am sure you are wondering, what on earth did I post 2 pictures showing ABC's play clock at 0 with Michigan State having not snapped the ball? To prove a point. ABC's play clock is not in sync with the play clock on the scoreboard. Look at the play clock on MSU's scoreboard. It still says 1 on it. Look at it on the 2nd screenshot. It says 0. Now watch the play. Per someone who can count tenths of a second better than I can, Michigan State got the snap off with .2 of a second expired after the ABC play clock expired. Now, the referees obviously cannot see that computerized play clock. They can only see the stadium one. Based on the screenshots, it can be reasonably assumed that the out of syncness is by .1 second. That leaves .1 second for the referees, who have to look for other things than just delays of game (i.e. false starts, offsides, illegal motion, etc.), to look up, notice the play clock has expired, recognize it is delay of game, and blow the whistle all in .1 of a second. Is it humanly feasible to blow that whistle in time? Probably, yes. A trained individual looking at the play clock could blow a whistle between the instant the clock expires and .1 seconds after said expiration. But given the nature of the referee's other responsibilities, is it reasonable to assume that we will get a delay of game whistle .1 seconds after the play clock expires? No, it is not.
And even if the estimation of tenths of a second is off here, blowing a whistle for delay of game is not a science. The next time you are watching a football game, watch how long it takes for a referee to blow a delay of game whistle. Often times it can take 1 to 2 whole seconds after the expiration of a play clock, though a referee who spots it at the just right instant probably has the play dead in .5 seconds. Notre Dame fans are going to get pissy about it. Heck, they already are, but until the age of robot referees hits us, you are not going to see delay of game penalties called that quickly in any level of football. It is just not reasonable to expect a referee who is watching for other infractions not clock related in addition to delay of game to blow a whistle for delay of game less than two-tenths of a second after the play clock expires.
(Note: If you are having problems reading the stadium scoreboard play clock, click on the pictures to enlarge. The difference between the 1 and the 0 is clear as day once enlarged, though unfortunately this is the largest Blogger will allow you to make them without pixelation.)
Update: Here is a tremendous breakdown of the clock, the graphics, and the situation.
The Big East issued the following explanation that I agree 100% with.
"After review, the conference believes that the game officials correctly applied the proper mechanics and guidelines that are in place to determine, in a consistent manner, when a flag should be thrown for delay of game. The responsibility is assigned to the back judge, who in this situation was standing beneath the upright. Proper mechanics dictate that his focus be directed to the play clock as it approaches zero. When the play clock display reads zero, he must re-direct his attention to the ball. At that time, if the snap has not started, a flag will be thrown for delay of game. If the snap has begun, no flag will be thrown.That's a clean, fair and square win for Michigan State. I don't think I have ever seen a delay of game called 1/5 of a second after the play clock expires. If you are an upset Irish fan or just someone who is unhappy with the call, this video says it best. Deal with it.
Under these procedures, there will always be a small amount of lag time between the time the clock reads zero and the time the back judge is able to see the football. On the play in question, this lag time created the situation where it appears the play clock expired just before the snap. We believe the snap occurred well within the normal lag time for the back judge to make this determination. This play is not reviewable under current NCAA rules."
(Hat tip to The Only Colors.)
Good article, but you're wrong. Refereees make that call all the time because they are looking for it once the play clock gets down to 1 second.
ReplyDeletePart of the problem is that play clocks aren't in a centralized location in each stadium. If they were, then the refs don't have to look at different places, and possibly miss the false starts and what not because they're not off looking askance at the clock.
ReplyDeleteESPN Big ten said the referee stated there was 2 seconds left on the official game clock.
ReplyDeleteHey, now, there's no need to start labeling Notre Dame fans. As an ND alumnus, I was certainly disappointed by the outcome of the game. I give credit where it is due, though.
ReplyDeleteWhat we saw was a great contest between two evenly-matched teams. Both sides had opportunities to put the game away early, but both made costly mistakes. Both also showed lots of heart and made some incredible plays.
From a strictly technical standpoint, the ball did not appear to be snapped before the play clock hit zero. Should that negate a surprising, game-winning play at the end of overtime? Absolutely not. Michigan State rolled the dice, and it paid off. Kudos to MSU for pulling it off and to both teams for a heckuva game.
ABC's play clock was fast, and there is movement. When is a snap? Movement, or the ball clearing the center's ass? I don't have the rule book in front of me, but it seems like movement constitutes a snap if it can also constitute a penalty.
ReplyDeletePlus, haven't there been enough jackass referees in the state of Michigan already? Who wants to potentially blow a whistle prematurely in this moment of a game?
ReplyDelete