[MD Longhorn]

Calling USC does nothing to alleviate this situation. Walk off 15 instead of 5, so what - Wisconsin doesn't care.

The only legitimate recourse available to the officials was to use the Unfair Acts clause and put time back on the clock. Can you imagine the firestorm that this would have generated? The ONLY people on the planet who would have considered that a good solution are those of us on this board (and JoePa, I suppose). They would have been crucified. We all see that unfamiliar rule in the books, and because we live here on this board, we've discussed it ad infinitum in many different contexts.

But truthfully - who here has actually USED the rule that lets us make seemingly (to the unknowing fan/coach) unilateral decisions regarding fairness to override an existing rule (the existing rules that are in print and known by the general public)? Other than "Where's the tee" type plays, which most of us read about but have never SEEN, when does this rule crop up? Never.

How can we fault the officials for not invoking an EXTREMELY rarely used rule to instill fairness into this situation? How can we fault a coach who was seemingly creative with a new rule, and worked completely within that rule (I say again --- nothing prevented PennState from declining the penalty and taking the ball!) in an attempt to win. How is that worse than any other trick play that is currently legal?

How can we NOT fault the NCAA for allowing this loophole (one obvious to any official who has been on any of these boards in this past year) to continue until it was abused? Place the blame where it is deserved, guys.