"Vexed" Wisconsin Coach

[TXMike]

He is irked at some of the calls yesterday:

http://www.jsonline.com/sports/badgers/bielema-vexed-by-a-few-of-officials-calls-5q3lanh-136556583.html

Video of the "out of bounds" play.  http://youtu.be/AbtuthAsZNA
Looks like clock should have continued to run although the U's quick clok stop signal may have stopped it momentarily.

Don't have the KO to the EZ play right now but when discussed among the refstripes "experts" yesterday, there was consensus the ball was never brought out of the EZ and was properly declared a touchback.  Not as much consensus on IR reviewability of the play.

[Rulesman]

First thing he should worry about is end-of-the-game clock management.

Just saying.........

[Birddog]

What I thought lead to confusion is the U's short quick stopping the clock signal.  I can see if he is mirroring the wing, but the wing did not stop the clock, right? I have noticed during bowl season some conferences wind when near the sideline and some do not wind at all. This is one situation where the wind might of cleared the situation up??  If that play is covered by ten different wing officials I bet it's half and half on stop or wind.

On the EZ play, I too thought the L made the correct call.  Contrast his position at the GL with that of the SEC crew in the Tostitos Bowl,  the L vacated the GL real early.  Which also brings up an observation, on the Stanford play at the GL on the kick where the Stanford player tackled his own player to keep him in the EZ, the R was in the middle of the EZ not at the GL, and he did the same thing on other KOs.  I have no clue if this was right but it seemed off especially on the close play at the GL where he had to hurry to the GL to make the ruling.

On the last play in the Rose Bowl, could/should they of reviewed the long pass play?  There were clearly 3 seconds on the clock when the runner was down, that one second would of been huge on the last play.

[TxSkyBolt]

I think the two pylon officials have responsibility for the goal line.

[pgh guy]

I thought this was one of the best officiated games so far this bowl season.  These ACC officials had a very good game and one of the best I've ever seen from an ACC crew.

The player who was seemingly knocked out of bounds was hit from the front.  He was driven backwards and OB which, mechanically, we would want a wind, but the wing official was taken out on this play. 

[NVFOA_Ump]

I thought this was one of the best officiated games so far this bowl season.  These ACC officials had a very good game and one of the best I've ever seen from an ACC crew.

The player who was seemingly knocked out of bounds was hit from the front.  He was driven backwards and OB which, mechanically, we would want a wind, but the wing official was taken out on this play.

As Birddog noted in an earlier post, there have been several bowl games where the wind on plays ending inbounds but near the sideline was apparently not being used.  Are there some conferences where the use of the inbounds wind is not standard practice?

[cincybearcat]

One of the reasons I hate "floating" as an H.  Really gets you in the way in a play like this.

[TXMike]

I thought the CCA was going to eliminate it but apparently they were unable to as some conferences insist  on winding still.  The only argument I can see to have the wind is that if schools are used to officials who do that and then get a crew from a place where they do not, it might cause some confusion. But even if it is decided to wind before stopping, shouldn't that be modified in time critical situations so you do not lose an extra second with the wind before you stop it?

[VA-Ump]

I thought this was one of the best officiated games so far this bowl season.  These ACC officials had a very good game and one of the best I've ever seen from an ACC crew.
 

Although a little biased, I have to agree 100%... Great job guys !!

[Andrew McCarthy]

The only beef he maybe has is the end of the first half.  Once the clock stopped (killed by the U?) when it was the intent of the wing guy to not stop it, there should have been communication to someone that the clock will run and ask if they want to use their TO.  As soon as coaches/players see the clock stopped on a play like that they are off to focus on other things and certainly do not expect the clock to restart out of nowhere.

I like the wind mechanic by wing guys on plays like this, especially if short of the first down- what's the harm?

I thought the mechanics on the last two plays of the game were outstanding.

[Rulesman]

I thought the CCA was going to eliminate it but apparently they were unable to as some conferences insist  on winding still.  The only argument I can see to have the wind is that if schools are used to officials who do that and then get a crew from a place where they do not, it might cause some confusion. But even if it is decided to wind before stopping, shouldn't that be modified in time critical situations so you do not lose an extra second with the wind before you stop it?

There were a lot of things the CCA is/was supposed to do in the the interest of "standardization" of mechanics that haven't happened. We still have a lot of the "when in Rome" philosophy being practiced.

[zebra99]

There were a lot of things the CCA is/was supposed to do in the the interest of "standardization" of mechanics that haven't happened. We still have a lot of the "when in Rome" philosophy being practiced.

We switched from winding to not winding mid-season despite some of us arguing as hard as we could to keep the winding mechanic - it's a good communication to all what is going to happen with the clock.  I don't believe the NFL winds but they have different clock rules and that might be the reason.

The only argument for not winding we heard was you might lose a second or two when there's only 2-3 seconds left. BUT this play is the poster child for the mechanic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was at the game in the stands and it sure looked like he went OB knocking into the official.  I then saw the U kill the clock.  I looked away (I guess exactly what the coach did as well) so did not see who wound it or when, in fact didn't realize it was started until my friend (non official) pointed that out.  I told him he was crazy because when stopped for going OB it doesn't start until the snap.  But he insisted it restarted.  So I then thought it was a clock operator error, but then the TO was announced and I was totally confused as to what happened.

And, of course, everyone around me wanted to know from me what was going on but I had no clue.

I've now seen the replays. It does not appear to me that forward progress was stopped in the field of play especially at that point in the game.

If the wind mechanic had been used, I'm sure the U would not have stopped the clock as he did in this case.

First game I've attended as a fan in over 20 years!  Boy, you sure can't tell how the crew is doing from the stands other then general positioning and coverage.  This ACC crew looked great in that respect but the "films will tell all."

[Andrew McCarthy]

The NFL does wind when a guy is driven out of bounds and forward progress is stopped in the field of play.  They are quite liberal with this mechanic.

[zebra99]

The NFL does wind when a guy is driven out of bounds and forward progress is stopped in the field of play.  They are quite liberal with this mechanic.

that's what I thought so why aren't we doing it like before!  I just assumed it was the NFL influence.

[centexsports]

I have never understood the need for winding when the clock is already running.   The wind signal is for starting the clock.   It appears to be a wasted motion all the time not only when time is short.

Except for those taught that mechanic why would anybody want to wind a running clock?

[zebra99]

I have never understood the need for winding when the clock is already running.   The wind signal is for starting the clock.   It appears to be a wasted motion all the time not only when time is short.

Except for those taught that mechanic why would anybody want to wind a running clock?

good thought except when there's a near the sideline first down type play which was not the case here.

[Bob M.]

I thought this was one of the best officiated games so far this bowl season.  These ACC officials had a very good game and one of the best I've ever seen from an ACC crew.

REPLY: pgh guy...I agree. I called a friend last night when the game ended. He hadn't seen it. He has a friend who works in the ACC (did the Alamo Bowl). I told him that the crew had a terrific game.

[Rulesman]

...why would anybody want to wind a running clock?

It's called communication, and it's a great tool to help keep you out of the soup. Why wouldn't you want to communicate when given the option?

[TXMike]

The absence of "communication" can be communication as well, as in, if I DON'T signal for the clock to stop, it will run.

[Osric Pureheart]

Yeah, but people are idiots and it helps to be able to say "did ya see the guy stood five yards away spinning his arm round?"

[Rulesman]

The absence of "communication" can be communication as well, as in, if I DON'T signal for the clock to stop, it will run.

...or as in, if your wife starts giving you the silent treatment you know she's mad.... you just might not know why. It might not change the outcome, but wouldn't it be better if she just told you why you were in the doghouse?

I'm of the opinion one shouldn't go looking for trouble. Plenty will find you without much effort. That said, I really have a hard time understanding why winding is such a problem for some. It's no big deal and merely reinforces the clock status in tight sideline situations for everyone to see. It eliminates any notion of uncertainty.

[FLBJ]

I can probably shed a bit of light on some of the questions raised. First, I agree, overall it was a good game that was well officiated and fun to watch. I'm sure the crew is tired after all that scoring!

that's what I thought so why aren't we doing it like before!  I just assumed it was the NFL influence.

A few years back, at a crucial point in an ACC conference game, the wind signal was given incorrectly (and, unfortunately mirrored by another official) and the team with the ball lost crucial seconds that should not have been lost. The supervisor said, "no more winding when near the sideline"...When in Rome...

...could/should they of reviewed the long pass play?  There were clearly 3 seconds on the clock when the runner was down, that one second would of been huge on the last play.

I may be wrong here but if the game clock did not expire, it is not reviewable with respect to the clock, especially if the team does not have any timeouts. Granted, we're not talking 5 or 7 seconds here, which might be 'egregious'. One or two seconds would not buy a replay.

[InsideTheStripes]

I've been trying to find a way to "bail out" the U.  Could he have seen the H start to give S3 (0:12) and simply started to mirror while dead ball officiating?

[ignorant fan]

 Regarding the final play of the Rose Bowl. Does the line need to be set for  one second?If yes, does that mean the ball could not legally be snapped until one second remaing? My handle is there for a reason, but at least I know that I don't know, unlike 90+% of the fans.

[JasonTX]

Regarding the final play of the Rose Bowl. Does the line need to be set for  one second?If yes, does that mean the ball could not legally be snapped until one second remaing? My handle is there for a reason, but at least I know that I don't know, unlike 90+% of the fans.

All that is required is they be set for 1 second before the ball can be snapped.  You can see that the Umpire was up over the ball for more than a second waiting on the Referee to start the clock.  The "being set" rule doesn't mean they have to hold being set for 1 second to run off the game clock.