Ask A Back Judge: The 2018 Military Bowl

10 Comments

1. 

   hokieben December 28, 2023 at 1:32 AM

   Thanks for the explanation. I've really enjoyed your articles, explanations, and insight. While that play may have cost Tech the game, there was an obvious DPI toward the end of the game that was not called and could have given us another shot at the end zone. Wish I could attach a picture of it.
2. 

   TboneParkerVT December 27, 2023 at 12:41 PM

   Terrible call.
3. 

   Mark3216 December 27, 2023 at 11:40 AM

   Great example as you said of calling what something seems like because you only saw a part of the play versus start to finish. When you take live partial snips of plays they seem much different mentally. I even question if the ref knows the 3 yard concept here as well as in spite of the above statement I still don’t really see how you throw the flag here without making a huge assumption (I.e. that Keene was running an illegal pick because you saw the end of the play) This is like in basketball where you see a challenge at the basket and the offensive player ends up falling down and you assume it was because of contact and how it looked at the end vs what actually happened earlier in the play.
   1. 

      TechHokie13 December 27, 2023 at 5:21 PM

      Yep, very dangerous assumption to make there. My best guess is LJ fell victim to what often happens when linemen head downfield: he noted where Keene was as the receiver was heading upfield, not where he was when the catch was made.
4. 

   WOJO December 27, 2023 at 11:40 AM

   Good instruction Thank you Amazing how impactful refs are on game outcomes
5. 

   TomTurkey December 27, 2023 at 10:22 AM

   Very important cardinal rule. Very.
6. 

   HoakieCup December 27, 2023 at 10:16 AM

   When watching that play, the defender clearly gets his hands on Keene first, and on the LOS, thus initiating the contact. Like you say, unless Keene just falls down or lets the DB ram him backwards, what else could he have done? And he barely got 3 yds off the LOS before Grimsley caught the ball.
7. 

   hokiepro December 27, 2023 at 10:08 AM

   That call absolutely cost them the game. And it was wrong. Seems like yet another example of a ref looking to call something to keep the game in balance/interesting Cincy would’ve had to use timeouts at that point and absolutely would not have been able to allow another first down or they’d have never gotten the ball back
   1. 

      TechHokie13 December 27, 2023 at 10:12 AM

      I think less looking to keep a game balanced/interesting and more overcorrecting when trying to avoid missing a point-of-emphasis play in a critical situation.
   2. 

      VAHokie89 December 27, 2023 at 10:41 AM

      Can't say that it what about the ref looking to call something to keep the game in balance/interesting. You have no idea what was in the ref's mind and I highly doubt, he thought "let's keep the game interesting"/