ACC Championship Offside Call
 

UNC called for offside on what would have been a recovered onside kick. Replay shows it was clearly an incorrect call.

How in the world is this call missed?

I bet the NCAA makes this is a reviewable play in the offseason.

It was a very bad call from my seat and.view. no better on the replay

I believe it's already reviewable in NCAA.

Not sure, but I believe that in the NCAA rules you have to have at least 4 players on each side of the kicker (I know it is true in NFHS) and if you look at a pic UNC only had 3 players on one side at the time of the kick

Watch the video. There are four on each side. Don't use a still frame.

It's not. Why would they not review it if it was reviewable?

Just a wild guess, admittedly based on a number of unsubstantiated presumptions, but ASSUMING the officials selected for the ACC Championship game were highly qualified, with considerable experience and were thoroughly cognizant of ALL the applicable rules, and ASSUMING that the replay officials had access to any and all replay angles and views, and ASSUMING that the other game officials on this (Championship selected) crew accepted the call as made, that just possibly they (ALL) saw , or understood, something that you, despite your view from your chair and any TV replays you had access to, didn't see and didn't understand or were aware of?

Look, they blew it....it's not reviewable, and it's not really even close. You don't need to Zapruder it from 15 angles at 1/32 speed to see this one. No amount of weird capitalization or excessive commas or self-righteous preaching will change that. Just admit it.

Of course they're highly qualified, much better than me. And this play SHOULD be reviewable - it's more like an out-of-bounds call than a judgment like a hold - so they never should have been in this position to be blasted. But they are. And they are because this one was big, easy to see, and obvious.

I just hope they don't kneejerk to public opinion and suspend them all for this. Recent history suggests otherwise.

They need to suspend the entire crew, even though only 2 officials would have been able to make this call. Just like they did in the Miami-Duke game. :rolleyes:

Peace

It's crazy that this isn't reviewable. This is hardly a judgment call. I bet it will become reviewable the next time the NCAA makes new rules.

I don't think that anyone can technically be "suspended" because, correct me if I'm wrong, none of these officials in question would be eligible to work a bowl game, anyway.

Of course, I suppose some punishment could "carry over" to next season. But I don't know much about college officiating, so I have no idea really.

If it was reviewable, it would be another review most would not agree with. The rule does not say anything about what foot is to cross, your body cannot cross. There is no angle that shows a definitive if it were very close. "

Again if people want 5 hour games they can have it with more reviews. But this was just a bad miss by officials that either was not prepared for that kind of game or was not looking at what they were supposed to look at. I do not see plays like this get missed in freshman football with one guy on the kicking line.

Peace

Suppose I told you that the foul was announced incorrectly, and that it was actually an illegal formation foul?

I don't think they had four on each side when the kick took place.

Yes this is a still frame, but pretty evident they were in an illegal formation.

Because it's a still frame.

If you actually watch the video, you will see that there's a 4th player who is directly behind the player visible at the top of the screen. It's just freaky how he managed to be directly behind the player at that exact instant.

If there were only three on that side of the kick, that means there's only 10 players in the kick formation, and I don't think there's an R in existence in NCAA football who would blow the RFP on a free kick if one team only had 10 players on the field.

Interesting quote (emphasis mine):

Offsides is not a reviewable play," said the spokesperson. "Dennis Hennigan (ACC director of officiating) said that mechanically the officials were in the correct position. The rule as it relates to to an onside kick that the 35-yard line is treated as a plane and if any part of a player breaks that plane before the ball is kicked it's offsides. The officials saw a member of the kicking team break the plane before the ball was kicked.

Fans react to controversial call in ACC Championship | abc11.com

Is there such an interpretation regarding onside kicks? If your index finger breaks the plane it is offsides?

It's been that way about 110 yrs. Previously it'd been foot position.