Ending of Ohio/Minnesota

[jchamp]

Originally Posted by bwburke94

College Football Week 4 Wrap: Quack in the Armor « (see "Delay of Something Something" section)

For those not interested in searching through the entire week's recap:

Trailing 27-24 at Minnesota with seven seconds to play, Ohio lined up to attempt a 53-yard field goal to tie. As is custom, Gophers coaches called a timeout just prior to the decisive kick in an attempt to ice Bobcats kicker Josiah Yazdani, who — as is also the custom — nonchalantly followed through with a warm-up kick. But wait!
Yes: In the seconds immediately following a pointless timeout by Minnesota, called with the express purpose to delay the end of the game, an intrepid official called a delay-of-game flag on Ohio because of Yazdani’s unsanctioned kick. Now faced with a 58-yard attempt following the penalty, the Bobcats opted to scrap the field goal altogether and throw up a Hail Mary instead, which fell predictably incomplete. Gophers win, and Ohio coach Frank Solich is left to wonder what the hell just happened:
“The thing that bothers me on that type of play,” Solich said. “Is that the ball gets snapped, so apparently the center doesn’t hear the whistle, either. But somehow you’re expecting the kicker to hear it when he’s concentrating on the snap. The crowd is very, very loud. He’s following through to what, he thinks, is maybe the game-winning kick.”
... [NCAA rules for delay of game snippet]...
Was Yazdani’s kick “deliberately advancing the ball after it is dead”? Was it “clearly designed to delay officials,” even though the officials had just stopped the play in order to delay it? Is there any existing precedent or plausible justification whatsoever for that flag to have been thrown in that situation? I could go on, but before I get flagged for delay of column, I’ll just answer: Nope.