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September 8, 2008
The ruling on the field stands as called...poorly
Remember back in the late 80's and early 90s when Don Shula was on the NFL Rules Committee and the Miami Dolphins seemed to get the benefit of the doubt on every call during games?
As a Dolphins fan, it was great. But all my friends who rooted for the Jets or Patriots would give me guff (that's what we called it back then, I swear) about it constantly.
"Oh, that guy just doesn't want to hear Shula complain for five hours straight when they meet this summer! That's why he gives Marino and those jackasses everything they want!" is the typical rant I would hear.
When UConn head coach Randy Edsall was asked about the horrible call at the end of the BYU-Washington game Saturday that resulted in a 35-yard extra point attempt and a loss by the Huskies (Washington QB Jake Locker flipped the ball over his head after scoring the apparent game-tying touchdown and was called for unsportsmanlike conduct) his answer surprised me.
"I don't know why everybody got upset. It's a rule," Edsall said Monday on the Big East's conference call with reporters. "You can't do that. It's specifically stated in the rulebook that you can't throw the ball up."
Pac-10 referee Larry Farina made the call and said he had to. He told a reporter after the game that it wasn't a judgement call.
Rule 9, Section 2, Article 2c of the rulebook does prohibit "throwing the ball high into the air" following a score or any other play. But any right thinking fan and most coaches felt the call was not needed at that point in the game.
Edsall felt otherwise.
"I don't know why everybody's getting so upset with the officials. We want the officials to enforce the rules. The rule is right there in the rulebook," Edsall said. "The official had no other choice but to throw the flag. If he didn't, now the official's going to have a problem."
Then I remembered that Edsall is a member of the NCAA Football Rules Committee.
Now before all you Temple and Louisville fans say 'I KNEW IT!' and start flooding me with e-mails, slow down. I'm not saying Edsall's team gets calls on the field because he's on some committee (though I'm nearly convinced that my Dolphins did). But Edsall does have a sense of what officials go through and he knows the exact letter of the law.
The man who originally posed the question to Edsall on the conference call _ Joe Starkey of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, I believe _ then pointed out that there is a rule listed just below that one that says "coaches shall not be on the field of play or outside the 25-yard lines" unless the referee allows it. And another one that forbids obscene language.
"That's a rule that's been harped on. It's a point of emphasis at all times," Edsall pointed out.
Even ESPN analyst/former Notre Dame head coach/former UConn assistant coach Lou Holtz said the call was unnecessary. And there is no one around who is more Old School (not that Old School) than Holtz.
But Edsall even called out such TV talking heads for making an issue of the play.
"It bothers me sometimes when these people come on TV and they talk about 'How can you call that?' " Edsall said. "Well, the guy was doing his job."
"Did the kid mean any arm? No, he didn't. But it's a rule," Edsall said.
Edsall may be out of touch with the youth of America (he'd probably say 'fine with me') and he may be out of touch with the typical college football fan (he'd probably say 'that's not true') but he certainly knows his rules and he's willing to support a much-maligned zebra.
- Neill
Posted by Neill on September 8, 2008 5:50 PM
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