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Explanation from officials
Posted November 10, 2007
Greetings from Ames, Iowa, where I just watched one of the most bizarre endings to a game I have seen. The Buffs lost 31-29 to Iowa State despite seemingly making to field goals in the final seconds that were ultimately disallowed.
I thought I would provide a brief explanation we received from game officials because I'm sure there is some confusion being that the game was televised on a very limited basis. Coach Dan Hawkins was a little confused after the game and said he plans to seek an explanation from the league on Sunday.
The Buffs blew a 21-0 lead and fell behind by 10 in the fourth quarter. They scored a touchdown to make it a three-point game and got the ball back with less than a minute to play.
They drove to the Iowa State and ran the field-goal team on to the field to kick the tying field goal from 50 yards out as the clock was winding down. Place-kicker Kevin Eberhart made the kick, but the Buffs were penalized for snapping the ball before it was ready for play.
"Technically, it is called delay of game, but the foul is for the offense snapping the ball prior to the referee's ready for placing," lead official Clete Blakeman said.
The five-yard penalty was marked off and 1 second was put back on the clock. Eberhart made the next kick from 55 yards out, but officials ruled the ball was not snapped before the last second ticked away. The game was over.
"First of all, we determined the clock status to have one second on the clock, and once the penalty was marked off, ready for play is going to signal and then I'm going to start the clock," Blakeman said. "So that was done, the whistle was blown, I started the clock and Colorado did not get the snap off prior to the clock expiring. Because they only had one second."
The delay-of-game penalty is a dead-ball foul, but because it is against the offense, the clock begins when the ball is marked ready for play. Otherwise, an offense could use such a penalty as a way to unfairly stop the clock late in a game with no timeouts.
Read more in the Sunday Daily Camera.
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Posted by bzainthemd on November 10, 2007 at 4:56 p.m.
The question is this...why is there a delay of game penalty for a team that rushes out to the field, gets its team in position to kick the game tying field goal, gets it off IN TIME without a false start or too many men on the field in a legal formation, and kick it through the goalposts? If the refs weren't ready, that's their fault. If we had waiting for a whistle, we would have run out of time. That call is rediculous and if Hawkins doesn't raise hell, there's something really wrong.
Posted by DougBarrett on November 10, 2007 at 5:42 p.m.
The field goal team deserves kudos for getting ready as quickly as they did for the first field goal and the kicker for making two field goals. The refs failure to give the ready signal before the first field goal seemed questionable but that was what the refs called.
The Buffs had a chance for the second field goal but they weren't ready. The kicking team apparently did not know that the clock was going to start on the ready signal. The TV announcers said that the clock was going to start on the ready signal and the referee's clock did that. The TV announcers knew what the kicking team needed to do but the kicking team didn't and the refs didn’t blow it dead when they should have before the second kick snap was made. The kicking team not being ready is a coaching mistake. During the announcement of the penalty, snap immediately is what the coaches should have been saying to the team, instead of arguing over a call that the refs had already made.
That said, I believe that Coach Hawk is doing much more right than wrong and he will continue to turn the Buffs around in the right direction, despite this setback.
Posted by cubuffone on November 10, 2007 at 7:41 p.m.
No excuses we gve up a 21 point lead and it sould not have come to the last call in the first place. Hawk needs to check his play calling-this was pathetic
Posted by phatmack on November 10, 2007 at 7:43 p.m.
I, for one, am interested in knowing what the NCAA has to say about this.
If Hawk asks them to look into it, will they? Lots of folks on the 'net have become NCAA 2007 Football rules gurus... seems that there are several rules that could apply here. I just want to hear an "Official" explanation after they go back and look at the end of that last series.
Way to go Eberhart for drilling two 50(+) yarders!!! Nice job.
For the record, I think there were a whole mess of things that led to the loss of the game... We should NOT have been in that situation in the first place. I don't put it all on the Refs, but I am very curious to know what part of the rule book applies here.
Thanks for looking into it Kyle!
Posted by justin.dodds on November 10, 2007 at 10:34 p.m.
If we don't snap the ball for the first (50 yard) kick, we lose the game because time expires...
Posted by john.schmitt on November 11, 2007 at 11:30 a.m.
The referee for this game was former star quarterback for the Huskers, Clete Blakeman. Ya gota love it!
Posted by archalon on November 11, 2007 at 5:53 p.m.
Helfrich's call that didnt get the first down to stop the clock before the kick is more questionable than most in the game. If you need 3 yds, dont throw it 2. Even a shot downfield would have stopped the clock.
The refs, Collins and Helfrich blew this game, not Hawkins. Everyone acts like the head coach calls all the plays
Posted by cubuff85 on November 12, 2007 at 5:33 p.m.
How long does it take for ref. to mark a ball? It certainly takes a shorter amount of time than it does to get the kicking team on the field!
Posted by trubuff on November 13, 2007 at 9:53 a.m.
why on earth do people like hlads go to a site of another team? I barely have enough time to go to my own team's site. He must have no job, no family or no life. The truth is Cletus was a Husker football player in the 80's and this is the guy who couldn't spot the ball before 11 players ran onto the field, got in their spots, got set and then snapped the ball. Its also the same guy who failed to tell the players that the clock will start on the whistle, something that most refs will do. Bias? Looks like it from here.