Delay of game?

[bigwes68]

I was at the game (unfortunately) and didn't have a chance to see any replay of that play. The only thing I can think of is that the referee simply gave the wrong signal/announcement for what happened. I thought there probably was a false start on the play, as in, all of UT's players were not set at the snap. But I didn't think this would be a delay of game.

As it turned out, if UT had scored on the possession, the penalty could have actually been beneficial. The original down/distance was 2nd and 4 from the VU 11. Instead of the spike stopping the clock legally and it becoming 3rd and 4, the delay of game penalty made it 2nd and 9 from the 16. The clock started on the snap. So the penalty actually gave UT 3 shots at the end zone as opposed to the two they would have had if there had been no penalty.

I'm pretty sure there was :30 or less left on the clock before the first down play (a quarterback draw) that got the ball to the 11. Since UT had no time-outs, the clock kept running. The spike happened with :13 to play. No time was put back on the clock.

[Edited by bigwes68 on Nov 21st, 2005 at 01:58 AM]