Let’s get this straight.
On Monday the Big 12 said their official review that negated an onside kick recovery was accurate. Except that it wasn’t. And the part that showed it wasn’t can’t be reviewed.
Huh?
We’re talking about the fact that Oklahoma was screwed out of a last minute possession in their loss at Kansas State that could have changed the outcome of that game — the first loss of the season for Oklahoma.
Some things are clear. The onside kick hit an Oklahoma player before it traveled 10 yards. That’s a given.
Another fact: The kick was recovered by Oklahoma. The officials on the field called it a recovery — Oklahoma’s ball.
But a replay official overturned the call and imposed a penalty. After looking at the video he concluded (accurately) the ball had struck an Oklahoma player too early. The rule for that says the ball belonged to Kansas State. And that’s what the official ruled.
Here’s the problem: The same rule says if the Oklahoma player was blocked into the ball, then it is not a “touching” at all. Never mind whether it was “forced” or not. That’s what the rule says.
Rule 6-1-4-a, the rule applicable to legal kick offs, titled “Forced Touching Disregarded” states:
A player blocked by an opponent into a free kick is not, while inbounds, deemed to have touched the kick.
The Big 12 referee referenced a rule that is not specific to free kicks (like onside kicks), regarding a “forced touching”, but that rule applies to muffed kicks, or batted balls. The more specific rule applicable in this situation to free kicks (i.e., kickoffs) was Rule 6-1-4-a.
More incredibly, the Big 12 announced Monday that the same video review that overturned the onside kick recovery — and which obviously showed a block in the back forcing the Oklahoma player to contact the kicked ball prematurely — can’t be used to show the Oklahoma player was blocked into the ball.
So, the video review can be used to only do half the job — the first half that gave Kansas State possession (which sealed the win, as Oklahoma was without time outs) — but not the second half which showed the rule negating any touching was applicable.
This has to be the dumbest decision by Big 12 officials ever. And for that matter — they aren’t even accurately applying the NCAA football rule that says the video replay can absolutely be used to review the play involving the alleged illegal ball contact by the Oklahoma player.
In other words, the Big 12 on Monday made up a “rule” to support the wrong decision by the replay official.
The official video replay Rule 12, titled “Kicks” provides:
ARTICLE 4. Reviewable plays involving kicks include:
a. Touching of a kick.
b. Player beyond the neutral zone when kicking the ball.
c. Kicking team player advancing a ball after a potential muffed kick/fumble
by the receiving team.
d. Scrimmage kick crossing the neutral zone.
e. Blocking by players of the kicking team before they are eligible to touch
the ball on an on-side kick.
To make matters worse, rather than just fess up to a goofed call, the Big 12 made-up baloney on Monday morning.
To make matters worse, rather than just fess up to a goofed call, the Big 12 made-up baloney on Monday morning.
These are situations that allow the instant replay official to create a foul where the on-field officials did not call one. But, in this instance, the replay official used the video to create a foul without regarding the rule that specifically states that when a player is blocked into the kicked ball, that is not illegal touching and there is no foul.
In other words, the officials on the field accurately called the play and found no foul. The replay official created a foul by imposing only one part of the rule. And it disregarded the spirit of the rule by disregarding Rule 12, Article 4 that says a reviewable play involving a kick includes “touching of a kick.” (And remember, Rule 6-1-4-a says under this circumstance there is no touching.)
The replay official said he couldn’t review that. But that isn’t what the instant replay rule says. That rule defines “reviewable plays”. The kickoff was a reviewable play because it involved the touching of a kick.
You can’t cut the baby in half. Either it was a reviewable play, or it wasn’t.
But that is precisely what the Big 12 did. And it likely cost Oklahoma the game, and greatly diminished the conference’s best chance of participating in the College Football Playoffs.
To make matters worse, rather than just fess up to a goofed call, the conference damaged its credibility with made-up baloney on Monday morning.
— Mike
Photo: Sooner Trejan Bridges is blocked by a K-State player into the onside kickoff on Saturday.
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