Two officials in offensive backfield?
 

First of all, I'm not a football official, but being an official in other sports, i do tend to watch and observe officials of all sports.

I was watching the West Virginia - TCU game on Saturday and noticed that they were utilizing two officials in the offensive backfield. I never could get a look at the placard on the back of the second official (he was wearing a black hat as opposed to the white hat referee). My curiosity was especially piqued when I did see an official with the U placard positioned just behind the linebackers.

This was the first time this season that I noticed this particular official positioning. I looked for the same things in the other games I watched on Saturday and didn't see it. Is this a Big XII thing or was I just seeing things?

I know the SEC tried it during their spring games and I think the Big 10 is attempting it as well.

The 8th official is the Center Judge and has a "C" placard. Last year the Big XII did it as well, but the 8th official was using a "A" placard. I don't know what they are looking for during the play but they, not the umpire, are responsible for spotting the ball.

That is the mechanic that caught my attention...the Center Judge spotting the ball and then moving to the offensive backfield.

Thanks for the info, guys!

Hope everyone is having a great season!

The SEC is using the "C" on an experimental basis -- one crew only.

One would assume the C would have O-line responsibilities and help cover offensive backfield action freeing up the R to keep his focus on QB responsibilities.

I haven't seen enough of those mechanics, I'm curious where the C is positioned for scrimmage and free kick situations.

Basically correct.. although I'm not sure of the exact mechanics and coverages, I think they're primarily responsible for the opposite tackle.

On free kicks, C starts out behind the kicker (where the Umpire used to line up in 6-man).

On punts, C's lined up opposite the R, just like any regular scrimmage play, only deeper. On Field Goals and Trys, I've seen a couple of variations: a) opposite the R as usual, or b) once I saw them run three officials (C, U, S) on the defensive side of the ball as a "triple umpire" formation.

Thanks.