RefStripes.com
Football Officiating => NCAA Discussion => Topic started by: chymechowder on January 07, 2011, 09:29:09 PM
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3:45 left in 4Q. East Washington trails by 6 and has 4th and 1 at the Delaware 23.
Running play. Ball spotted just inside the 22. They measure, signal first down (by a ball length) and move the chains. Then replay checks the spot. WH: "The ball will be spotted at the 22 yardline and we will re-measure."
Respot, remeasure. Still a first down--by the very tip of the ball.
Couple questions:
1. does IR typically check and/or change the spots on plays like runs up the middle? seems like there'd be gray area in changing a spot like that. (as opposed to, say, determining where a ball carrier crosses the sideline.)
2. Is their ability to remeasure dependent upon the chain crew having 2 clips on the chain? Having moved the chains, did they need to have the previous clip in order to go back? Or could the H simply say, "Look the clip was at the 30 on the first measurement."
3. Crew looked really good. But what's up with those big orange beanbags? :)
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I can't speak to any of this but the last part.
I get to see SoCon officials about 5 times a year. They always wear orange beanbags, and have for about 4-5 years. Don't know why, just know that they do.
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That certainly wasn't the best use of replay I have ever seen.
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Bet they don't lose em in the tall grass.. LOL
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The reason we wear the orange beanbags is because they show up good on film.
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I know this goes without saying, but if somebody has video of this situation I'd love to get the link. A lot of us could learn from something like this.
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The reason we wear the orange beanbags is because they show up good on film.
I have been working college football for 12 years and in all the film review I've been involved with I can't recall one play where we went back and said there's the bean bag or where's the bean bag!
That whole replay was botched. Call should have stood as called on the field. Nothing good was going to come from reviewing that play.
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I seem to recall hearing that Gerald Austin Conf USA supervisor of officials introduced them for his conference because he felt they showed up better when he was reviewing film of his staff. Some of us over here in the UK use them and I must admit I find the orange bag easier to find when I go to pick it up after use.
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Delaware was up 19-0 at one point. They missed the PAT on the first TD. But it was this measurement that cost the the game? hEaDbAnG
Delaware Blue Hens football: Keeler adamant referees erred in fourth-down call
By MARTIN FRANK • The News Journal • January 8, 2011
FRISCO, Texas -- University of Delaware coach K.C. Keeler said he thought the Hens had the game won late in the fourth quarter, on a fourth-and-one play from the 23-yard line.
There were less than four minutes left, and Eastern Washington, trailing by six points, gave the ball to running back Mario Brown, who ran into a wall of UD defenders, desperately trying to get the first down.
He was stopped, and the referees came out to measure. Brown was given the first down. But the referees decided to review the spot, making sure their placement was accurate.
After the review, they moved the ball back about 6 inches, measured again, and this time Brown had gotten the first down by about an inch.
Three plays later, Eastern Washington scored the winning touchdown, sending UD to a 20-19 loss in the NCAA Division I-AA championship game Friday.
Keeler, however, was adamant that the referees had made a mistake on the measurement, saying the clip on the chain had been taken off after the initial spot had given EWU a first down, and that it wasn't put back in the proper place for the review.
All of this happened right in front of Keeler.
"The review came back that the ball is being put back to the 22," Keeler said. "As soon as we heard that, we knew we had the stop because we knew the chains were past the 22. They came over to the chain crew, and the chain crew was confused because they moved the clip already. So they guessed."
Keeler kept protesting, to no avail. So he called timeout.
"They wouldn't talk to me anymore," Keeler said about the referees. "We stopped them, no ifs, ands or buts about it ... That's disappointing. We're in a championship game and we have a spot with three minutes to go in the game that dictates who wins and who loses.
"I usually don't complain about things like that, but that one hurt. It really did."
There's no saying that UD would have been able to run out the clock and win the game if the Hens had taken over in that situation.
But it sure would have been a lot tougher for Eastern Washington to score the winning touchdown.
EWU coach Beau Baldwin said the referees did the right thing by reviewing the spot. Still, it was nerve-wracking for him waiting for the result.
"They were trying to figure out where the spot was," Baldwin said. "And they just wanted to get it right. I get that. The whole idea with the replay is to make sure they get it right in big games, and that's all they were trying to do.
"It's always going to be gut-wrenching for a coach during those situations ... You just hate to see it when it's going to be about a half an inch one way or the other, and that's the hardest part to take."
Just ask Keeler.
EWU scores three TDs in final 17 minutes to rally for title
Updated date: Last Updated - January 8, 2011 2:15 GMT
E-mail: Contact | Archive | RSS
APDelaware head coach K.C. KeelerJerry Trickie, NCAA.com
FRISCO, Texas -- Ask a coach in the week leading up to a game what it will be like once his team hits the field and you might get the usual, pre-packaged answer. After the contest, it’s not quite the same. It’s typically a little more open, some might say a tad more honest.
Delaware head coach K.C. Keeler definitely fell into the honest group Friday night discussing how his team, which led 19-0 midway through the third quarter, lost its grip in the closing minutes of a thrilling championship tilt.
“To say this loss was devastating would be an understatement,” Keeler said to open his postgame news conference. “I don’t think I’ve ever been associated with a loss like this.”
The Blue Hens’ inability to stop Eastern Washington during the final 9 minutes gave the Eagles their first national title with an almost improbable 20-19 victory in front of a crowd of 13,027 at Pizza Hut Park. EWU’s Bo Levi Mitchell, the strong-armed quarterback from Katy, Texas, guided his team with near ruthless efficiency in the last period and a half before finally taking a bow in the end zone after the clock hit zero with a national championship in hand.
It wasn’t easy though as Delaware dominated early.
The Blue Hens led 12-0 at halftime after racking up 230 yards almost equally on the ground (116) and through the air (114). The defense, which came in as the top scoring defense in the country and ranked fifth in total defense, held the Eagles to just 62 yards before intermission, a season low for the first half by 23 yards. Mitchell was just 6 of 11 for 36 yards after two quarters.
“We pretty much dominated the first half but my concern was, you know, not having enough points on the board with how well we dominated,” Keeler said. “But we dominated the game and you knew that Eastern Washington was a big-play team and you just waited for them to make a couple big plays."
He was right.
UD went up by 19 points after the teams exchanged turnovers before things started to get away from the Blue Hens. Mitchell guided EWU on an 80-yard, five-play drive, slicing up what was considered to be the best secondary in the FCS with three consecutive completions for 35, 24 and 22 yards to put Eastern Washington on the board.
“We had some opportunities to put the ballgame away and we didn’t put the ball game away; shame on us for not putting the ballgame away,” Keeler said. “They are a very good football team. It’s a tough, tough, tough way to lose, especially the way you dominated the first half the way we did."
From there, momentum only went one way and it wasn’t the same as the first half.
“It’s just they started making some plays down field, that’s what they do and what they’re about,” Keeler said. “They got some momentum and momentum’s tough.”
Once they started rolling, the Eagles never stopped, even when its luck looked as though it might have run out. That came when Eastern Washington faced fourth-and-1 from the Delaware 23. Running back Mario Brown ended up being credited with a 1-yard run, but it wasn’t that simple.
“We stopped them,” Keeler said. “There’s no ifs, ands or buts about it, we stopped them.”
The officials didn’t see it that way.
Following the run, the Eagles were credited with a first down. Before the next snap, the play was reviewed and the ball moved back about what appeared to be the length of the football. Keeler called timeout after the officials awarded a first down for the second time and asked for them to check the spot of the chains, which had been moved before the review started.
“The way the ball was spotted originally, that was a first down. But the chain was not on the 22. The chain was past the 22. That’s why when they said the ball is put back on the 22, we knew we stopped them,” Keeler said. “Not game over, but game close to over.”
While the spot didn’t go in Delaware’s favor, the Blue Hens still had a chance to end the game on top. The Eagles wouldn't let that happen as a break down in pass coverage on second down followed by a perfectly placed ball from Mitchell on first-and-10 from the 11 gave EWU the win.
Even though his defense had chances after the unique fourth-down situation, the coach still had a bad feeling about it after the game.
“That’s disappointing,” Keeler said. “You know, we’re in a championship ballgame and we have a spot with 3 minutes left to go in the game that dictates who wins and loses. Usually I don’t really complain about things like that, but that really hurt. It really did
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According to a retired SC official in our group, the orange beanbags were selected by the supervisor of officials several years ago after his officials could not come to a consensus on what color to select to use.
Sounds as if one of two things need to happen- 1) must use two clips in NCAA or 2) once chains have moved, IR of spot shouldn't be allowed.
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I seem to recall hearing that Gerald Austin Conf USA supervisor of officials introduced them for his conference because he felt they showed up better when he was reviewing film of his staff. Some of us over here in the UK use them and I must admit I find the orange bag easier to find when I go to pick it up after use.
I recall Don Lucas, Sun Belt and SoCon supervisor, might have beat Austin to adopting orange. Seems like I remember a story (true or not, it's a good story) where it was put to a vote at a clinic - blue or white. They couldn't decide so Lucas came up with orange to settle it. They are no uglier than blue or red turf fields.
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I watched the game and don't remember by how much they made the first down in the original measurement. That would be very telling/
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Warning..this is a lllloooonnnggggg video...took quite awhile to handle and I included all the footage
[yt=425,350]hIzvK7U7TPY[/yt]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIzvK7U7TPY (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIzvK7U7TPY)
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That's one of the reasons as a H, I always ask my chain crew to use 2 clips. In pregame I ask my clip man to leave the original clip in place until we have a snap from the new line to gain spot. Let me say at the level I work we do not have the luxury of replay, aux box and the such but it can and would have been a life saver in this case. Sometimes it's about perception as well, if you look like you know what your doing there is less room for doubt. No matter what the crew did, if the clip was moved then relaced they were doomed.
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Looked like they made it in the original measurement by about 8", and if the reports are accurate that the ball was re-spotted by the IR crew 6" shorter, it still would have been a first down.
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If you look at the first pull the LTG is the far side of the 22 yard white line marker on the field. Replay could have used the first pull to determine the chain location.
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That's one of the reasons as a H, I always ask my chain crew to use 2 clips. In pregame I ask my clip man to leave the original clip in place until we have a snap from the new line to gain spot. Let me say at the level I work we do not have the luxury of replay, aux box and the such but it can and would have been a life saver in this case. Sometimes it's about perception as well, if you look like you know what your doing there is less room for doubt. No matter what the crew did, if the clip was moved then relaced they were doomed.
You raise a couple of valid points. Using a second clip, as you describe, sounds like a good idea, and most of all if you look like you know what you're doing, that counts perhaps more than anything else. One point, I'd dispute however; Instant replay is nowhere near being a luxury. There is statistical proof it has corrected calls, however whether or not it has advanced the game is an entirely different perspective.
Perhaps the single best rule, differentiating NFHS from NCAA football is NF: 1-1-9 " The officials shall have the authority to make decisions for infractions of the rules. The use of any replay or television monitoring equipment by the officials in making any decision related to the game is prohibited.".
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While I can't say "all" collegiate head-linesman's at all levels use two clips, I know I did while working Dii-iii level. I also know of at least one Big East H that does, so I will assume they all do in the BE.
My instructions to the clip guy was to leave the second clip on until the first play after the move has ended. Had they done that here... and we really don't know do we that the clip was removed .. resetting the chains would be a none-issue.
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2 clips were being used. @ 5:50 of the youtube, you can see a clip on the chain @ the 20 yardline (in a perfect world, you should see 2 clips very close to each other). Then 10 seconds later, you see the 2nd clip - in the hands of the chain crew person (assume it is the clip man) talking to the H.
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2 clips were being used. @ 5:50 of the youtube, you can see a clip on the chain @ the 20 yardline (in a perfect world, you should see 2 clips very close to each other). Then 10 seconds later, you see the 2nd clip - in the hands of the chain crew person (assume it is the clip man) talking to the H.
The question is, which clip is in the chain crewman's hand...the first or the second? You are right...they would have been within inches of each other. The way that the clip is laid out on the 20, I'm guessing (purely speculation) that this is the new clip...straightened out to set the marker on it. I'd bet that the clip in the guy's hand is the old clip that was on the 30.
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Sounds like this incident highlites several important points;
1. Using a second clip seems like a really good idea, and when used properly may prove extremely helpful in
eliminating potentially serious problems.
2. Focus and paying attention to detail on EVERY instance involving the chains is important.
3. Hustle is always important, and "Hurry" is a bad thing that can cause serious problems. The "Football Gods" look for
imaginative ways to punish "Hurry".
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Spoke to one of the down field officials in this game and came away with this...
4th down -- running play, ball was spotted by the wing officials (H). R calls for a measurement (no buzz from replay)...R signals 1st down (no buzz from replay). Chains are reset on the sideline (no buzz from replay). R waits for officials to get into position (no buzz from replay), R winds clock (no buzz from replay). Officials count eleven players (no buzz from replay), 10 seconds come off game clock (FINALLY -- buzz from replay). R goes to replay official and is told to "respot the ball on the 22 yard line and measure again". R returns and has ball respotted and calls for a measurement. The chain crew thinking everything was ok had removed the clip when the R wound the clock and ball was about to be snapped (mistake by chain crew). The chain crew had been told by the H/L before the game to not remove the clip until "after" the ball was snapped on first down. When the R found out the clip had been removed, he asked if anyone was writing down the down and distance. The H had someone doing this and went to him. The chains were then set. R measured...1st down. HC tells R chains are not set properly. R tells HC to call TO and he would verify with replay whether the chains were set correctly or not. R goes to replay. Replay confirms chain are set properly.
The deep wing told me the R did everything he could to take all the doubt out of the process caused by a "late" review by the replay official.
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Spoke to one of the down field officials in this game and came away with this...
4th down -- running play, ball was spotted by the wing officials (H). R calls for a measurement (no buzz from replay)...R signals 1st down (no buzz from replay). Chains are reset on the sideline (no buzz from replay). R waits for officials to get into position (no buzz from replay), R winds clock (no buzz from replay). Officials count eleven players (no buzz from replay), 10 seconds come off game clock (FINALLY -- buzz from replay). R goes to replay official and is told to "respot the ball on the 22 yard line and measure again".
R showed a lot more restraint than I would have shown. My response might have been to the effect "if you want it respotted now, get your IDIOT down here and do it yourself 'cause there ain't no way I'm doing it after all this time!"
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Spoke to one of the down field officials in this game and came away with this...
4th down -- running play, ball was spotted by the wing officials (H). R calls for a measurement (no buzz from replay)...R signals 1st down (no buzz from replay). Chains are reset on the sideline (no buzz from replay). R waits for officials to get into position (no buzz from replay), R winds clock (no buzz from replay). Officials count eleven players (no buzz from replay), 10 seconds come off game clock (FINALLY -- buzz from replay). R goes to replay official and is told to "respot the ball on the 22 yard line and measure again". R returns and has ball respotted and calls for a measurement. The chain crew thinking everything was ok had removed the clip when the R wound the clock and ball was about to be snapped (mistake by chain crew). The chain crew had been told by the H/L before the game to not remove the clip until "after" the ball was snapped on first down. When the R found out the clip had been removed, he asked if anyone was writing down the down and distance. The H had someone doing this and went to him. The chains were then set. R measured...1st down. HC tells R chains are not set properly. R tells HC to call TO and he would verify with replay whether the chains were set correctly or not. R goes to replay. Replay confirms chain are set properly.
The deep wing told me the R did everything he could to take all the doubt out of the process caused by a "late" review by the replay official.
By "down and distance", I assume you are referring to the previous down & distance. If so, how did the R use the previous down and distance (4/1 @ B-23) to reset the chains?
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My bad...
"After further review"... When the R found out the clip had been removed, he asked if anyone was writing down the down and distance or was keeping up with where the stakes were. Both chain holders were writing down where they had started on every series. The H had someone doing this and went to him. The chains were then set.
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My bad...
"After further review"... When the R found out the clip had been removed, he asked if anyone was writing down the down and distance or was keeping up with where the stakes were. Both chain holders were writing down where they had started on every series. The H had someone doing this and went to him. The chains were then set.
We're talking about a difference of 2 inches. Does the chain crew mark their spot THAT accurately? Unless the chains started exactly at the edge of five yard line, there is no way they could replace the chains accurately.
This was a mechanical disaster. Once the chains were reset and the clip was moved, this should have been left alone, you go with the call on the field. Replay official blew this one.
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Amen, Blue. My point exactly.
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The story still is alive:
http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20110114/SPORTS07/101140359/1002/SPORTS&theme=SPORTSOPINION
Frank: Keeler still
scrubbing at stain of
'The Spot'
COMMENTARY • By MARTIN FRANK • January 14,
2011
NEWARK -- University of Delaware football coach K.
C. Keeler began his postseason press conference
Thursday by saying he was going to spend most of
the time answering questions, and not make much
of an opening statement.
But Keeler couldn't help himself.
He spent a few minutes talking about the offense,
then the defense, and what a great season it was.
Keeler then spent the next 6 1/2 minutes talking
about the fourth-down play that he is convinced
cost the Hens the national championship. He spent
several more minutes answering questions about it,
going through each sequence as if it were the
Zapruder film.
Keeler said the play, in which the Hens appeared to
stop Eastern Washington on a fourth-and-one from
the UD 23 with less than four minutes left, was
going to forever be called "The Stop."
Instead, he said it will be forever known as "The
Spot."
Four plays later, EWU scored the touchdown that
sent the Hens to a 20-19 loss in the Division I-AA
championship game after UD had a 19-0 lead
midway through the third quarter.
It would be easy to say that Keeler should give it a
rest, move on, and start focusing on recruiting,
winter workouts, and so on.
Keeler said he has done just that.
But Keeler is also passionate and meticulous,
perhaps to a fault. And maybe this is his way of
soothing the pain from a loss that he admits "still
stings."
So Keeler described how he spent two hours after
the game going over the fourth-down play with Tom
Yeager, the Colonial Athletic Association
commissioner; and Dennis Poppe, the NCAA
managing director of football and baseball.
He described how the clip on the chain was wrongly
moved, and that it wasn't put back in the proper
place when the referees decided to review the play,
which they originally measured for a first down. So
EWU got a first down again, even though the ball
was moved back after the review.
"We watched it together," Keeler said. "They didn't
want to see the truth. I made them see the truth. I
wanted to make sure there was no dispute. They
were like, 'Yeah, coach, there's no dispute.' "
You could almost picture Jack Nicholson in the
room, yelling: "You can't handle the truth!"
Then Keeler went to Phoenix to accept the Liberty
Mutual Coach of the Year award. He said he
commiserated with Oregon coach Chip Kelly, whose
team also lost the Division I-A national
championship in the final minutes.
Keeler said he talked to referees he knows from the
Big East and NFL.
He even mentioned how he heard, but hasn't been
able to confirm, that the officials working the chains
were actually referees given a special honor of
working a championship game.
"It's like telling a referee, 'OK, now you're a ballboy,'
" Keeler said. "I know what ballboys do, but I've
never been a ballboy before."
Who knows? The FBI might get involved next.
At least this way, Keeler can say the referees cost his
team the game, rather than the offense all of a
sudden couldn't execute, or the defense all of a
sudden couldn't stop EWU.
On offense, the Hens' formula the entire season was
get a lead, give the ball to running back Andrew
Pierce and let quarterback Pat Devlin pick apart a
defense.
Through 2 1/2 quarters, the plan worked.
Then it didn't.
On defense, the Hens tried everything to slow EWU's
passing attack in the second half.
"We didn't make any plays," defensive coordinator
Nick Rapone said. "I called every coverage I could.
...
"We couldn't stop their momentum. We couldn't
make plays, and they made plays. Black and white,
that's exactly what it comes down to."
But Keeler is convinced there's a shade of gray.
So he went to every source he could find, getting
each one to corroborate his belief that the referees
messed up on that crucial fourth-down play.
Keeler is probably right.
It doesn't matter anymore.
As Keeler put it: "You never get a game like that
back."
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The Chain Crew was a group of Southland Conference Officials. I don't know that they were "rewarded" as much as they live in the DFW area. The Replay Guys were both Big XII Conference Replay Officials.
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2 officials that were on the chain crew worked the Delaware/Georgia Southern semi final game......
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Some in Delaware will not let it go....
http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20110123/SPORTS07/101230344&theme=SPORTSOPINION
Tresolini: NCAA should admit mistakes
By KEVIN TRESOLINI • The News Journal • January 23, 2011
It has now been 16 days since the fiasco in Frisco, where an apparent act of incompetence contributed to the University of Delaware's loss of an NCAA football championship.
Some may not want to hear or confirm that, for fear it tarnishes the title won 20-19 by Eastern Washington that Friday night in Texas.
Make no mistake, the Eagles were worthy winners, making plays and defensive stops with impressive passion and precision in the game's decisive final 18 minutes while erasing a 19-0 UD advantage. They are to be saluted.
But the NCAA, an organization that prides itself on fairness and equity, and has voluminous rulebooks to ensure such, needs to come clean.
Many are certainly tired of hearing about what will forever be known locally as "The Spot," which is understandable. Yet, it needs to be addressed so it never, ever, happens again.
Eastern Washington is NCAA champion. Delaware is not. So be it. The Blue Hens had their chances.
But they also had an apparent fourth-down defensive stop on a fourth-and-1 run by Eastern's Mario Brown at the UD 23-yard line with 3:26 left. Officials initially spotted the ball in a place that, after a measurement, gave the Eagles a first down. They moved the chains. But the spot was reviewed. The football was moved back.
And here is where things happened that undermine the NCAA and its operation of the Division I-AA title game.
Officials called for the chains to come out to measure for a first down. But the small disc, which is clipped to the chain at a major yard line -- one ending in a '0' or a '5' -- and, therefore, ensures exact placement when a measurement is made on the field, had, inexplicably, been removed from the chain. Exact placement of the chains was impossible.
Sideline witnesses, who included Delaware coaches, players and some former players, said the chain crew was telling the referees, "We can't re-spot the chains." The Southern Conference crew brought them out anyway.
The referees, in an NCAA championship game, just guessed on the placement of the chains. They guessed wrong.
TV replays show the 10-yard chain stretching to the edge of the 22 on the goal-line side as the previous series is being run. When re-spotted, the football did not appear to reach that far. But when the chains were brought out the second time, they only reached the side of the 22 toward the 50.
Eastern Washington was given a first down and scored three plays later, then thwarted a Delaware possession to preserve its one-point lead.
So why did the chain crew remove the clip, and why didn't the replay official correct the mistake caused by the misplaced chains?
The 10-yard chain is supposed to have two clips, as one is left on from the previous series just in case officials need to go back, said Rogers Redding, the NCAA's national coordinator for football officiating. It rarely happens, he added, but did in the Delaware-Eastern Washington title game, and he said, "added a level of uncertainty."
No one has been able to explain why the clip was removed or if the crew was using just one instead of the proper two, leading some to believe the chain gang, made up of Southland and Big 12 conference officials, was not qualified to work the game. Dennis Poppe, NCAA vice president for football and baseball, said it was a qualified crew and had also worked the Big 12 championship game.
Byron Boston, coordinator of officials for the Southland Conference, also said it was an able crew but wouldn't answer how such an elementary mistake could occur in regard to the clip.
While referring inquiries to the NCAA, Boston didn't seem to appreciate being questioned and grew defensive when pressed about issues such as the number of clips required on the chains. He even fired out this gem: "I'm an official in the NFL. Do you know what that is?"
Yes, it's a league that admits to its mistakes.
As for the replay booth being able to help with the chain placement, replay official Don Kapral of the Big 12 kindly deferred to the NCAA. Poppe said the replay official's job is "to determine forward progress," but not placement of the chains.
Next Page1| 2| 3Previous Page
It has now been 16 days since the fiasco in Frisco, where an apparent act of incompetence contributed to the University of Delaware's loss of an NCAA football championship.
Some may not want to hear or confirm that, for fear it tarnishes the title won 20-19 by Eastern Washington that Friday night in Texas.
Make no mistake, the Eagles were worthy winners, making plays and defensive stops with impressive passion and precision in the game's decisive final 18 minutes while erasing a 19-0 UD advantage. They are to be saluted.
But the NCAA, an organization that prides itself on fairness and equity, and has voluminous rulebooks to ensure such, needs to come clean.
Many are certainly tired of hearing about what will forever be known locally as "The Spot," which is understandable. Yet, it needs to be addressed so it never, ever, happens again.
Eastern Washington is NCAA champion. Delaware is not. So be it. The Blue Hens had their chances.
But they also had an apparent fourth-down defensive stop on a fourth-and-1 run by Eastern's Mario Brown at the UD 23-yard line with 3:26 left. Officials initially spotted the ball in a place that, after a measurement, gave the Eagles a first down. They moved the chains. But the spot was reviewed. The football was moved back.
And here is where things happened that undermine the NCAA and its operation of the Division I-AA title game.
Officials called for the chains to come out to measure for a first down. But the small disc, which is clipped to the chain at a major yard line -- one ending in a '0' or a '5' -- and, therefore, ensures exact placement when a measurement is made on the field, had, inexplicably, been removed from the chain. Exact placement of the chains was impossible.
Sideline witnesses, who included Delaware coaches, players and some former players, said the chain crew was telling the referees, "We can't re-spot the chains." The Southern Conference crew brought them out anyway.
The referees, in an NCAA championship game, just guessed on the placement of the chains. They guessed wrong.
TV replays show the 10-yard chain stretching to the edge of the 22 on the goal-line side as the previous series is being run. When re-spotted, the football did not appear to reach that far. But when the chains were brought out the second time, they only reached the side of the 22 toward the 50.
Eastern Washington was given a first down and scored three plays later, then thwarted a Delaware possession to preserve its one-point lead.
So why did the chain crew remove the clip, and why didn't the replay official correct the mistake caused by the misplaced chains?
The 10-yard chain is supposed to have two clips, as one is left on from the previous series just in case officials need to go back, said Rogers Redding, the NCAA's national coordinator for football officiating. It rarely happens, he added, but did in the Delaware-Eastern Washington title game, and he said, "added a level of uncertainty."
No one has been able to explain why the clip was removed or if the crew was using just one instead of the proper two, leading some to believe the chain gang, made up of Southland and Big 12 conference officials, was not qualified to work the game. Dennis Poppe, NCAA vice president for football and baseball, said it was a qualified crew and had also worked the Big 12 championship game.
Byron Boston, coordinator of officials for the Southland Conference, also said it was an able crew but wouldn't answer how such an elementary mistake could occur in regard to the clip.
While referring inquiries to the NCAA, Boston didn't seem to appreciate being questioned and grew defensive when pressed about issues such as the number of clips required on the chains. He even fired out this gem: "I'm an official in the NFL. Do you know what that is?"
Yes, it's a league that admits to its mistakes.
As for the replay booth being able to help with the chain placement, replay official Don Kapral of the Big 12 kindly deferred to the NCAA. Poppe said the replay official's job is "to determine forward progress," but not placement of the chains.
Redding concurred, saying location of the yard markers is "not something that's formally reviewable.'' But, he added, nothing prevents a replay official from making an observation and relaying it to officials.
Nick Trainer, the Big East replay official who worked the quarterfinal and semifinal games at Delaware, confirmed that even when something is deemed "not reviewable," the replay official is permitted to correct what he terms an "egregious" error.
A longtime NFL referee who spoke to The News Journal, and asked that his name not be used because of his association with the league, said the replay booth should have informed field officials not to bring the chains out for the initial measurement, before the spot of the ball was reviewed.
He added that on-field officials' unfamiliarity with replay review, used only in I-AA during the playoffs, likely contributed to the mix-ups.
Delaware coach K.C. Keeler, who watched videotape with Poppe, Colonial Athletic Association officials and others immediately after the title game, is still seething over what he feels is an injustice.
"If this was Oregon-Auburn," Keeler said of the BCS title game, which is not even an NCAA-run event, "nobody would be sweeping it under the carpet."
Poppe confirms there were "some procedural issues that are of a concern" to the NCAA, including the removal of the clip.
"It was an unfortunate situation," he said.
Even the original incorrect placement of the football, Keeler pointed out, was made by an official whose view of its precise location was obscured rather than by the official who had the proper vision and positioning. Had that been done properly, he said, it's possible none of the subsequent succession of errors would have occurred.
Poppe pointed out that spotting the football is "not an exact science," which is true.
It's also a game of inches, which furthers speculation about what should and shouldn't be a first down. It was almost too close to call. Having viewed videotape himself, Redding felt the football in its re-spotted location would probably have been a first down if the chains had been properly placed.
The TV replays I saw indicate otherwise. But again, that's not really the point here.
When there is an officiating error in the NFL, the league will make a statement confirming such.
The NCAA needs to fess up in regard to what is supposed to be one of its signature championship events, not to alter the outcome, but to help ensure it never happens again.
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Wow, who 'da thunk so much ink would be used on the two clip mechanic? :!#
Once you get past the sour grapes from the partisan writer, there's actually a few tidbits in there that make for good mechanics discussion -- from who had the better look at the spot to begin with, to chain crew management, to the use of replay.
Interesting comments as well from those quoted...
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"Fiasco in Frisco" ::) Reminds me of the Thriller in Manila.
Reckon they'll put a plaque at the stadium? ;D
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Tresolini: NCAA should admit mistakes
By KEVIN TRESOLINI • The News Journal • January 23, 2011
Byron Boston, coordinator of officials for the Southland Conference, also said it was an able crew but wouldn't answer how such an elementary mistake could occur in regard to the clip.
While referring inquiries to the NCAA, Boston didn't seem to appreciate being questioned and grew defensive when pressed about issues such as the number of clips required on the chains. He even fired out this gem: "I'm an official in the NFL. Do you know what that is?"
If that is an indication of Coordinator Boston's overall attitude, I don't envy you Southland Conference boys.
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I read a blurb on the D-II.com message board yesterday that some think the SLC may go the way of the SWC in the not too distant future. If that happens, Mr. Boston can break out the old Jerry Glanville definition of NFL when describing his supervisory role: "not for long". :'(
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If that is an indication of Coordinator Boston's overall attitude, I don't envy you Southland Conference boys.
Don't believe everything that is printed by a obvious bias reporter!!!
Do you really think a Coordinator would really say something like that to a reporter???
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LOS guys,
Here is one more example of why we should start each first down with the ball on a hashmark or line. I think it is better to have the ball on the back of the line but we can have the ball on the front of the line if necessary. If we do this, we can go back and reset the chains and still have a measurement even if the clip gets removed. It appears to me that the LTG was in the center of the 22 which means that getting the center of the 32 is difficult. Obviously there are times in a game in which the ball must be spotted between lines but only on a limited basis. Guys who are opposed to this plan will say that we will get criticized for missing the absolute perfect spot but I can say that my experience has been that we have rarely been questioned about spots. Thoughts?
I believe that it may have been last year that Gene Steratore's crew had a coach challenge a 1st down spot where the LTG was the back of the 6 yardline. After review they put the ball straddling the 6 yardline and then measured. The measurement was entirely for TV as they knew that where the ball was placed was still going to be a 1st down.
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I totally agree with this comment. To relate this back to the ongoing replay discussion, EWU began their go-ahead drive on their own 37 after a Blue Hen punt. The first offensive play was a 31 yard pass down the middle of the field that put the ball on the UD 32. Assuming this was a veteran crew working the national championship (I know the H was just picked up by the ACC), and given the length of the pass and it's position in the middle of the field, I'd bet a fair amount of money that they spotted the ball with the forward tip just touching the 32 yard line. I'd find it hard to believe they'd place it with the tip of the ball in the middle of the line, straddling the line or worse yet inches short of the line. Given that, it would mean they needed to reach the back of the 22 for a first down. After replay, this is exactly where they were told to spot the ball 7:10 on the Youtube video confirms this. And the ball just touches the front of the stake. Given this, I'd say the crew got the chains back properly and it was a first down. As for the first measurement at 0:56 and it looking like the stake was touching the front of the 22, the camera angle could certainly have had something to do with that. Feel bad for the crew. Other than the replay guy interjecting himself I thought they had a nearly perfect game. Four fouls the whole game and none in the second half. I'd take that in any game, let alone the championship on national tv.
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100 yards X 3 feet X 12 inches = 3600 linear inches on a football field. If we miss a spot by 8 inches we are 99.997% accurate. I have always and will continue to start on a line for any 1st and 10 outside the red zone.
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Must be nice to officiate on well defined fields. Next your going to tell me that the lines on the field are straight and perpendicular to each other!
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Wolf,
I looked hard at the video to see exactly where the LTG was positioned and it looked like the front stake was in the center of the 22. It was really hard to tell and I too would give the crew the benefit of the doubt. If they started the series with the nose of the ball touching the 32 then the coach has no argument. The chains can be reset even without the clip. It may not look good, but it is as accurate as any spot that I might have had. I don't see that the coach has a major complaint here.
As for lines being straight and perpendicular that is for someone else to figure out. I hearken back to a story of a B10 HL who went to work a national TV game in South Bend and had the chain crew stretch the chains only to find that they were short between some lines but were long between others. Apparently the person who marked the field erred when using the stencil and they were off the width of the board in spots. They spent the day setting the chains from the LTG backward to the ball. That would make your head spin.
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Next your going to tell me that the lines on the field are straight and perpendicular to each other!
Whether all the long yardlines (those ending in 0 or 5) are parallel and precisely 5 yds apart are open questions. Technically, using the clip to measure for first downs on the field of play is valid only if the long yardlines are equidistant and parallel. Hence, practically, we assume they are.
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Must be nice to officiate on well defined fields. Next your going to tell me that the lines on the field are straight and perpendicular to each other!
Once you totally accept the premis that ALL lines ARE straight and perpendicular to each other you will find life on a football field, as an official, a lot easier to deal with.
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Once you totally accept the premis that ALL lines ARE straight and perpendicular to each other you will find life on a football field, as an official, a lot easier to deal with.
It can be a bit hard to do that when you've got six hashes between two 5-yard lines...
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Or one of mine from last year. Line starts on the 30 on one sideline ends on the 35 of the other... I've seen some major curves in lines over here too... But I had meant it as a joke - obviously we are going to trust an normal looking field.
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The uneven line argument goes away for games played on turf, something becoming more and more common these days.
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The uneven line argument goes away for games played on turf, something becoming more and more common these days.
Still does not stop HS coaches from squealling like a pig stuck under a gate when you do not measure one that is obviously not close.