PSU/OSU Illegal Batting Question
 

For those folks who saw the PSU/OSU game, the OSU QB had the ball knocked out of his possession behind the line of scrimmage. The loose ball landed on the ground and was almost at rest when a PSU player intentionally batted the ball forward toward OSU's goal line where another PSU player recovered the ball.

Should this have been ruled "Illegal Batting"?

I will have the video posted later today. Very tough call to make in a scrum like that. Easy to see how covering officials could have ruled player was just reaching for ball and his hand knocked it forward. If the call had been made it would have been supportable by video.

I thought the exact same thing when I saw it on video. It was clearly a bat with the back of the players hand and not an attempt to recover it. It's hard to say what view the official had. It appears the R had a clear view. It's also a situation in the heat of the moment and a very tough judgement call.

Definitely a bat, but that would have been real hard to pick up at game speed, I could see the R calling it either way, and being supported in either case.

Video:

http://www.youtube.com/v/6lHaJBxBq2k

Looks to me more like he was reaching for the ball moreso than batting it... but that's JMHO

From TXMike's video, the announcers stated the the PSU player knocked it back to keep it away from OSU.

If that is what the announcer said then it is safe to assume that is NOT what happened

YouTube - ohio state vs penn state (2008) close game, 13-6

go to the 30 sec mark, psu player whacked the ball.

LOL. Good point, Mike.

looks like a muffed recovery to me...

This Buckeye fan really wanted a batting call, but given the way that play developed and all that was going on, I wasn't expecting to see it thrown. I wasn't even sure about it when it first was shown, and we were able to see it on my buddy's 50+" HD screen.
The QB made a bone-headed play, that set the rest of it in motion. As far as I'm concerned, his actions should be more important than making what can be a really picky call.

I see refbuz is wearing blue shades!
:cool:

Looking at the players motion on my DVR/HD combination from the replays from ESPN, IMHO, it was definitely a Illegal Bat. The defensive player seeing that he would not have a chance at the ball, intentionally knocked the ball 4-5 yards toward OSU's goal line. This was an advantage gained and clearly against the rules. The fact that the OSU QB had the ball knocked away by a great defensive play by PSU should not be a factor in determining if PSU #46 committed a foul.

YouTube - The Fumble: Penn State Beats Ohio State in Columbus

nah, looks to me like the "bat" came as a result of 2 players jumping on his back in an effort to recover the ball.

I think a case could made either way to support a call/no call.