Announcers wanted U to signal TD

[RoyGardner]

"The U is in the worst position to see if the runner legally made it in the endzone of the close in plays..."

Sorry guys but this statement is just flat out wrong. On quick dives up the middle from the 2 and in, with the QB or RB hitting a seam left or right of the center the U is the ONLY official on the field who has a view of the ball carrier without 4-6 opposing linemen directly in the field of view between him and the ball carrier.

That being said we still will never signal TD on these plays, since on those 90+/-% of the plays where there is a question in/not in we are not in the best position. Therefore the standard mechanic is for U to "provide guidance" to the covering official using some form of previously agreed signal. This accepted practice helps avoid those times where the ball is clearly in, but the U did not catch the knee down at the 1. If the U does not signal, then we avoid the absurd conflicting signals with the U going up with TD while at the same time a wing is running in pointing to the ground ("knee down") at the one.

The only objective here is to get it right, and IMO the best way for that to happen is for the TD call to be left to the wing officials with a little help as needed from the U.

[JugglingReferee]

Texas A&M vs. Cal. Late 3rd quarter...

Cal deep in A&M territory, RB jumps over crowd, breaks plane (or did he????) then ball comes loose, defence recovers. Nothing from side guys. Crew gets together. 1 minute goes by. R finally comes out and signals 1D for A&M.

Announcers claim a TD was scored. I bet the guys in the truck had it all cued up, RTG. They show all the replays... yup he broke the plane.

R gets the signal that the replay booth is reviewing the play. R goes over, 30s later comes back to tell everyone that the play was a TD.

If they were using the Canadian mechanic, the U would've signalled TD and there's be no unnecessary interruption in the game.

[MJT]

Originally Posted by JugglingReferee

Texas A&M vs. Cal. Late 3rd quarter...

Cal deep in A&M territory, RB jumps over crowd, breaks plane (or did he????) then ball comes loose, defence recovers. Nothing from side guys. Crew gets together. 1 minute goes by. R finally comes out and signals 1D for A&M.

Announcers claim a TD was scored. I bet the guys in the truck had it all cued up, RTG. They show all the replays... yup he broke the plane.

R gets the signal that the replay booth is reviewing the play. R goes over, 30s later comes back to tell everyone that the play was a TD.

If they were using the Canadian mechanic, the U would've signalled TD and there's be no unnecessary interruption in the game.

I don't know how the U could have gotten to the LOS to see that the ball crossed the plane even if that is their mechanic. If he wasn't right there, he would not have been able to rule on it either.

[RoyGardner]

No matter what the mechanic here this one was going to be reviewed and it was going to take some time. Any play like this one where there is a loss of possession just as the ball carrier is crossing the GL is going to be reviewed. not sure any on-field mechanic would have made the final result here take any less time. Also, IMO the U had no angle to be making a call on this play anyway, regardless of the "standard mechanic".

[Soonerump]

I have been with the same crew for 5 years, and an Umpire for 4 of those years. The previous U of this crew would signal a TD every time.

Final game of the season 5 years ago and playoff implications were on the line. U signaled a TD with 32 seconds on the clock. He did not check with anyone else he just signaled. The bad thing was, the runner had lost possesion of the ball at the 3 yard line, and he did not regain possession of the ball. The HL and the LJ came in blowing their whistle saying runner did not have possession. Everyones Bean Bags were on the ground except for the U. Even the BJ saw the ball come loose.

The U was very adamant about it being a TD. We could not convince him otherwise, and he stated that if we overturned his call that he would never call with us again. We had a conference and overturned his TD signal. He walked off of the field with 32 seconds left on the clock, and has never officiated again.

If I see a TD I look to my wings, and if they need help I will walk over and confer with them, but I will never signal. Too many things can and will go wrong.

I wanted to share this with you guys, because bad things do happen when an Umpire thinks they have the proper angle and signal something that they have no business signaling.

[MJT]

The other 4 said fumble, he said he'd leave, then did after you overturned his call. The officiating world is better without someone like him anyway. I think the state would suspend him anyway.