If you read my primer on the Fundamentals of Officiating, thanks for bearing with me as we explore the organized chaos that is officiating college football. If you haven’t read that yet, I’d strongly encourage you to check it out, as that piece lays the foundation for what we’re going to discuss today.
As I mentioned in my Fundamentals piece, the whole idea of this series is to break down tough or controversial calls so we as fans can develop a better understanding of how the game is officiated, and with that more thoroughly enjoy this sport that we all love so much as it is. So I thought I’d ease us into it…. with potentially the single most controversial call in the history of Virginia Tech football. I’m talking, of course, about the offensive pass interference call in the 2004 VT/USC game at FedEx Field.
Officials Involved: Head Linesman (HL), Side Judge (SJ), and Back Judge (BJ)
The Rule: 7-3-8b, 7-3-8b2(2004 NCAA Football Rule Book):
“Offensive pass interference by a Team A player beyond the neutral zone during a legal forward pass play in which a forward pass crosses the neutral zone is contact that interferes with a Team B eligible player. It is the responsibility of the offensive player to avoid the opponents. It is not offensive pass interference (A.R. 7-3-8-VI, VII, XIII, XVIIIand XIX):
… 2: When two or more eligible players are making a simultaneous and bona fide attempt to reach, catch or bat the pass. Eligible players of either team have equal rights to the ball.”
The Call: Offensive Pass Interference
The Breakdown: Now that I’ve elevated the blood pressure of everyone over the age of 30 to dangerous levels, let’s dive into what happened here.
Mechanically, this play is officiated about as perfectly as possible. The HL has drifted about five yards downfield when the ball is thrown, which is excellent. It gives him a bit of a head start to help out on a deep throw down the sideline (for better or worse), without getting so far from the line that he might miss a hold by a lineman or have to scramble back to get a spot if the QB breaks contain. Likewise, the SJ and BJ do an excellent job maintaining their cushions on a deep route - the SJ is about eight yards downfield when the ball arrives, and the BJ is out of the frame deep in the middle. In theory, everyone is right where they should be to judge on this action.
It’s worth noting that this is the only contested matchup on the far side of the field. Tech’s coaches have done a great job isolating Hyman one-on-one, which also makes the jobs of the HL and SJ much easier. Again, there should be minimal distractions from Hyman and his defender. The BJ is likely focused more to the middle and near side of the field, but once the ball is airborne, his focus will immediately shift to the only two players in a position to make a play. The U may pivot to help out, but the pass is, in my opinion, too deep and too far outside for him to have much of an impact.
Of the three officials involved in the play, the SJ, while closest, probably has the worst view of the contact in question, as he’s screened by the defender. The HL, while furthest away, likely has the best view of Hyman’s right arm (which is what I believe he’s flagging here). Finally, the BJ probably doesn’t have a great view of the actual contact, but should be in excellent position to judge how either of the players’ momentum might change as a result of any contact.
The HL is the only one to throw a flag, clearly indicating the two deep officials did not judge the contact to rise to the level of a foul. Officials are generally instructed to throw a flag on foul-worthy action in their zone of responsibility, even if they see another flag on the ground, just in case the other official(s) might be calling something different (though we’re discouraged from throwing “me too” flags all over the field when we catch a train wreck that three other officials clearly have covered).
The Verdict: We all know this is a bad call (okay, I’m sure at least the overwhelming majority of TSL Subscribers would agree it’s an atrocious call), but why is it a bad call?
In my view, the HL violates two key principles of football officiating:
1) “Make it be there”/”Don’t have the best eyes on the field.” Essentially, the action must have a real impact on the play to be called a foul. We all know the phrase, “they could call holding on every play,” so why don’t they? In short: by philosophy, the contact must be great enough to substantially affect the play and give one player a clear advantage.
I’ve seen comments over the years that maybe Hyman’s slight tug of the defender’s jersey was what was called, or that he pushed off with his right hand, and that’s what was called. In either case, there just isn’t enough contact to have made an impact. Hyman didn’t keep the defender from going where he wanted to go, he just stopped running and the defender flew past (that’s a Top Gun line, isn’t it?). If I’m officiating this play, I’m seeing two players handfighting for position, with a “kiss goodbye” and Hyman clears his hands to go up for the ball. By rule, this is a player making a bona fide play on the ball - no foul.