Iowa-Wisconsin - IW

[bisonlj]

Hill from UW was about to score on a running play when he was stripped at the 3 yard line. The ball goes into the end zone where there is a mad scramble. As the officials get in to determine who has the ball, another scrum starts about 15 feet away. Apparently the ball had squirted out and was recovered by Wisconsin. The officials huddled and the R reported it was a touchdown.

They then announce the play was being reviewed. That's when Mussberger went into "stupid" mode. At first he was saying he didn't see how the review could determine if someone had possession under the first pile. When they showed one of the replays I noticed the covering official was killing the clock and it appeared his whistle was in his mouth. There was no sound so I couldn't tell if there was an IW but I knew that's what the review was probably about.

Finally, the announcers noticed the official as well and then did a reply with sound. You could clearly hear the whistle. Then Mussberger couldn't understand why they could review it because he thought plays that were blown dead could not be reviewed. I knew he wasn't very knowledgeable about the rules but this is the worst I had seen.

When the referee announced there was an inadvertent whistle and UW chose to take the ball at the 1, Mussberger was again very confused. How could they spot the ball at the 1 when the official and the ball were in end zone when the whistle blew. He really needs an official sitting next to him! The R also announced the down would count and it was now 2nd down. The ball was snapped around the 20 so I knew they had to have reached the line to gain. When he was explaining the ruling to the UW coach, you see the coach was trying to tell him it was first down. He then went back to the head set to talk to the replay official.

The R then announced UW had reached the line to gain and it would be first down. They also marked the ball at the 3 instead of the 1 (not sure why because it looked like the ball came out at the 1). Mussberger was now really confused. Why did they pick the 3 and not the 2 or 4? Uhhh...maybe because they ruled the ball came out at the 3. Before I became an official I admit I had no idea how to handle inadvertent whistles, but these guys are the voice of the games at the highest level so they should have access to someone who knows the rules. They were very critical of the officials but I felt they did a great job handling the situation and ultimately got it exactly right thanks to the replay system.

Early in the 3rd quarter Mussberger shared he talked to someone at halftime and learned the options in an inadvertent whistle on a loose ball play and explained why UW took the choice they did. He also admitted the officials got it right. If they would have had someone in the truck or the booth that could have helped them in an unusual situation, they would not have looked like idiots and made the officials sound like they didn't know what they were doing.

[JugglingReferee]

The Canadian Ruling is to also give A the ball at point of fumble, with downs continuing. In this case, 1D was earned, so it's 1D/G @ B-3.

IMHO, this is a major screw up. IWs are bad enough, but to have an IW that involves the EZ.... ouch! Then, the R had to go to the reply two times!? Ouch!

I agree with Mussberger being an idiot.

[mj]

Musburger was a total a$$ from the point of the IW until haftime. Especially at halftime when they interviewed Ferentz and he said the officials got it right. Musburger says, "wait until he finds out the whistle was in the endzone". Moron.

He did some serious apologizing after talking to someone at halftime about the actual rule. However he did sound somewhat amazed that the officials got it right.

[Tom.OH]

Bison, you only had one mistake in your post. You said "then Mussberger goes into "stupid" mode". Actually Mussberger starts the pregame in stupid mode and continues until the final whistle!

[MJT]

I'm sure Dave Parry will send a memo reminding the Big 10 officials that this is why we need to see the ball, in possession, with a player down before blowing the whistle, BUT if you watched that scrum it looked for sure like a player had the ball and then all of a sudden it squirted out. The only thing worse would have been if after it squirted out Iowa would have recovered and then it would have returned to Wisconson at the 3. Luckily it all worked out as Wisconson scored as they would have it the IW had not occured.

[jwaz]

What is the FED rule for this situation?

[MJT]

Originally Posted by jwaz

What is the FED rule for this situation?

They did rule it correctly according to IW rules, and it is the same ruling in NF and also the NFL.

[raiderfan]

Using NFHS rules - I thought the IW called for a replay of the down back at the original LOS.
The only IW I ever witnessed were on scrimmage kicks that were muffed and someone blew an IW. Using the ruling applied in the Wisconsin - Iowa game, the ball was in the kickers possession and becomes loose at the kick. If there is a muff by R , then an IW , then recoverd by K or R , the ball should go back to the line where K kicked the ball and replayed .

Do I have this right ? IW's are rare but if I ever need to rule on one I want to get it right.

[FeetBallRef]

Originally Posted by raiderfan

Using NFHS rules - I thought the IW called for a replay of the down back at the original LOS.
The only IW I ever witnessed were on scrimmage kicks that were muffed and someone blew an IW. Using the ruling applied in the Wisconsin - Iowa game, the ball was in the kickers possession and becomes loose at the kick. If there is a muff by R , then an IW , then recoverd by K or R , the ball should go back to the line where K kicked the ball and replayed .

Do I have this right ? IW's are rare but if I ever need to rule on one I want to get it right.

Wisconsin's Hill broke through the line and was about to score a 20-yard touchdown but Iowa's A.J. Edds forced a fumble just shy of the end zone. Iowa's Mike Humpal appeared to recover in the end zone but the ball squirted free toward the back of the end zone where Wisconsin's Marcus Coleman jumped on it.

After a long booth review the officials ruled that there was an inadvertent whistle on the play and the ball was placed on the Iowa three. Two plays later Wicsonsin's Donovan hit Beckum for a touchdown with 43 seconds left in the second quarter.

Take a look at the NFHS rule book on page 48, RULE 4 Sec. 2 Art. 3 a, b, c, & note.

Then another thing to review is http://football.refs.org/workshop/knowledge.html

[MJT]

Originally Posted by raiderfan

Using NFHS rules - I thought the IW called for a replay of the down back at the original LOS.


Do I have this right ? IW's are rare but if I ever need to rule on one I want to get it right.

You do not always have to replay the down from the PS. Rule 4-2-3 is not that long or hard but is critical that all officials know it VERY well cuz it can make a BIG difference in how you enforce the IW and how it affects the teams.