Did anyone see the end of the Division 2 championship?
 

Not to say this was incorrect but from a fan and observer view, I can see why fans were upset.

NE Mo State was making on onside kick. The ball went the 10 yards and was bouncng around. There was a big scramble for the ball with players from both teams all over the place. It appeared that a receiver jumped on the ball and then you could see movement from the ground as if the ball had come loose and it was a fight for the ball.
The umpire and (i believe) FJ came to the pile and started looking for the ball and uncover the players. The back-Judge was standing straight up about eight yards from the pile and was pointing in the direction of the receiving team.
A few seconds later a kicking team player got up with the ball.
Needless to say it did not go well with the kicking team or their fans.
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The replays really did not help. The replay from the angle of the BJ was that you see the receiver jump on the ball but you see movement to the right of the pile as if the ball was loose. This was where the kicking team player got up with the ball. The announcers were giving the official some heat.
But as I watched I thought that if the back-judge had only went the extra few steps and checked the pile it would have made such a difference. Not that the call would have been changed but the perception would have been different.

Again I am not saying the call was incorrect -but to me it just did not look good. It was a close game with the championship on the line.
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There were no games involving a "NE" Missouri State yesterday. There was one involving "NW" Missouri State. And in THAT game, the onside kickoff call you are referring to was made by the F, NOT the B. The F had a much better look at what had transpired than did we couch potatoes. He signalled immediately which tells me he saw something others did not see. The replays bore out the accuracy of the call.

sorry about not getting the names correct but if you saw a replay that 'bore out the accuracy of the call", then we must not be talking about the same game- or you are privy to more replays than what they showed.

The best the kicking team could argue was that they had joint possession and on a KO, that ain't enough.

I saw it.

I think the F was premature in his signal. I thought they'd be digging in the pile. I don't think the replay was very clear. The best that R could have gotten out of it was a joint-possession in which they'd get the ball. When I did college ball, we always said, "Only the strong survive." In others words, if we can't see immediately who has possession, you have to give the ball to the team who has it last.

I thought it was pretty early too, but it did look for a second like R had the ball and the official might have ruled that he had possession of the ball and was down before he lost it again.

I don't think the signal was premature at all. Keep in mind guys that we weren't in his position. I thought there was angle that showed the UMD player with possession of the ball. Was it a clear view? No, but I thought there was a shot where you could see the ball in the player's possession.

If the F had a view of the player with the ball, why wait to signal? The only thing I would suggest the F to do in the future would be to signal more emphatically to sell the call. If he did that, maybe we wouldn't be discussing this play.

As for NEMO State, it is now called Truman State and is in the same conference as NW MO State.

Didn't see the play, but it is so important to know when it's necessary "to sell" a call. We all understand that we shouldn't be making a call, unless we're sure of what we're calling, but there are definitely situations where demonstrating just how sure we are of a particular call can make all the difference as to how that call will be received.

Fumble recovery is generally one of those circumstances. When you decide a player has possession of the ball, and he's on the ground, nothing that subsequently changes matters. It's like a knee brushing the ground, the ball breaking the plane, someone landing or touching a sideline. The only person who needs to see those things is you, as long as you're sure of what you've seen.

When you're sure, you should leave absolutely no doubt as to what you are sure of. Your reaction will make a big difference as to how the call is received.