Land Clark
 

Land Clark is working the Sugar Bowl tonight, his second bowl game this season AND he worked the PAC-12 Championship Game. Now, Clark is phenomenal and probably the best referee in the conference. But how does this happen? I didn't think it would even be permissible for an official to get THREE postseason games.

Someone more knowledgable about college football officiating can enlighten me.

Maybe they feel that the playoff is not the same as a Bowl game?

What other Bowl did he work?

I think the Heart of Texas bowl or the Heart of Dallas bowl, or one of those bowl games that are so famous no one actually knows the name of.

Heart of Dallas Bowl (Illinois vs. LA Tech)

It was my understanding that working a conference championship game disqualified an official from working a bowl game.

Well we are in a new era. So maybe they changed the rules to give crews another chance. And honestly, I do not have an issue with it. This is a business where you are given opportunities based on your performance to some extent.

Peace

Who else is on this crew?

Don't know.

I will say I thought the running into the kicker call was spot on.

I liked that one too. I would have liked to see a flag on Urban Meyer's headset reaching low earth orbit but I guess that's asking too much in a national semifinal game.

MTD, Jr., and I scoured the NCAA Football Rules Book and we found the Section of the Rules with regard to Roughing and Running Into The Kicker, but we could not find an exact definition of each.

And it sure did look like Roughing The Kicker.

MTD, Sr.

Oh such negative vibes against teams from the Big Ten, LOL!

MTD, Sr.

The way it's enforced is pretty clear -- if you hit the kicking leg and not the plant leg and if it's not "compressed", it's only going to be running into and not roughing. If you hit the plant leg, it's 15.

I'm a Big Ten fan, but still....

I despise the whole "THEE Ohio State University" BS. I could barf every time I hear it.

Oh, I'm not a fan of the Buckeyes. Can't stand them except in January (football) and March (basketball) when my Big Ten loyalties come out.

Official name of the school is "The Ohio State University"
GO BUCKS!

It is like a lot of things in life where you will not find a hard definition to something, but to those that work the game would not have a hard time making a decision. He was only displaced and not hit very hard. If he was roughed, he would have gone down primarily because of the contact. He went down mostly acting or trying to embellish the contact, while landing in the same place.

Peace

Bill Lemonnier said the call was correct. I'd say he's a reliable critic.

And Meyer was lucky not to draw a flag. You hate to say it, but no way that gets called at that point in the game.

It would not have even hurt Ohio at all. If they accepted the penalty, they rekick the ball.


Peace

And don't forget The Best Damn Band In The Land!

MTD, Sr.

It's my understanding the entire crew worked both bowls. I had not heard they also worked the Pac 12 championship game. I'm not aware of any rules limiting a crew from working multiple postseason games. I assume it is just a common practice.

Personally I think any official working in an FBS conference is qualified to work a post-season game. They have more than earned their stripes prior to getting hired. You may not want a Sun Bowl or MAC crew working a semi-final or final, but they are definitely capable of working the bowls they are assigned. For that reason I think each official should only be assigned to one postseason game so more officials get an opportunity to work.

But the Pac 12 supervisor can do whatever he feels is best for his conference.

Philosophy. IN GENERAL, hitting the kicking leg of the kicker gets you 5 while hitting the plant leg gets you 15. The play last night fell under this generality.

I had a game this year where the kicker was only hit in the kicking leg, but he was completely blown up, so I did the 15. So it isn't absolute, but just hitting one leg or another will tend to fall into one of the sections I noted above.

What you will see is that the crews working the semis and championship game will have also worked another "lower level" bowl game. Those games are to serve as a warm-up for the semis or championship game.

This is not true. Matt Austin did not work another bowl game before the Rose Bowl yesterday, and Greg Burks, who is working the championship game, has not worked another bowl game.

I stand corrected then. I thought for sure Burks worked another game already.