Ask A Back Judge: Virginia Tech vs. Maryland

Tristan Raisch

September 22, 2026 54

Another fun one is in the books, and in pretty satisfying fashion given the regional opponent, recruiting implications, past decade of out-of-conference losses, etc. The general vibe I’ve observed is that the officiating in this one was quite good (at least from the Hokies’ perspective), and I believe we have Conference USA to thank for that, with a B1G replay official. Well done to referee Garrett Dickerson and his crew.

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Ask A Back Judge 2026 VT-Maryland Football

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54 Comments

robby68 September 23, 2026 at 12:56 PM

Your thoughts on whether you saw the Maryland OGs false starting, especially on their first touchdown drive around the goal line.
JC in FC September 23, 2026 at 9:42 AM

Excellent reviews of these plays. So informative to watch these without the heated emotions of the game going on and really focus on the rules and the play. Thanks so much.
downjerseyhokie September 22, 2026 at 9:49 PM

Wait, where the ball crosses the out of bounds line? It doesn’t matter where the ball is when the runner makes contact with the ground out of bounds? I thought the stretch and turn of reynolds as he was falling clearly extended the ball past the line to gain before he made any contact with the ground, but if it’s where the ball is when it crosses the out of bounds line, then we’d just be looking at forward momentum up until that point?
1. TechHokie13 September 22, 2026 at 10:19 PM
  
  Correct. The exception to that is the goal line. Stuff gets *real* funky when we're talking about when a player does and does not get the goal line extended (and for added fun, the rule is different for high school, college, and the NFL). It's been a minute since I've covered it (if I've even done a full segment on goal line extended), so you can be sure we'll cover it in detail the next time the outcome of a game hinges on a critical play near the pylon.
  1. downjerseyhokie September 22, 2026 at 11:05 PM
    
    You learn something new every day! Thanks for the reply! I love these articles.
turn2296 September 22, 2026 at 9:33 PM

Thoughts on the holding called on Ghannam that negated the Overton run? I didn’t see much in general but the tv coverage was poor
1. TechHokie13 September 22, 2026 at 10:21 PM
  
  Yep, really wanted to dive into that one in detail, but we only got the live broadcast angle. Not even a replay. Just didn't have enough to go on to have any meaningful discussion on it.
HokieRaven7 September 22, 2026 at 7:07 PM

As always, great info - Thanks!
1. TechHokie13 September 22, 2026 at 7:51 PM
  
  Thanks for reading!
hokiepro September 22, 2026 at 4:16 PM

On the “FatRat” OPI. Slow it down and the UMd DB is the one who reaches out and initiated contact with Fatrat. He extended both arms to contact him immediately off the line and as FatRat ran at him he wrapped his arms around Fatrat pulling him along as he ran. Maybe he was supposed to block thinking it was a screen but in no way shape or form did FatRat initiate contact first
1. TechHokie13 September 22, 2026 at 5:56 PM
  
  FatRat's leg drive eliminates all doubt from my mind. That DB had zero say in where the two of them ended up, and that makes the call super easy for the covering official.
HOKIE SEAN September 22, 2026 at 3:23 PM

Love this series. Thx for helping us all see the refs as people in a tough job. Professional and flawed, who get it right most of the time, just like us.
1. TechHokie13 September 22, 2026 at 5:59 PM
  
  Much appreciated, and thanks for reading! I don't think I've come across any in recent seasons which were just straight-up wrong. Like, the PI against USC '04 or the phantom DPI against ECU type of wrong. Most of the ones which fans gripe about are at least defensible, if not simply correct by rule. I definitely anticipated being much more critical when I started the series, yet here we are 🤷‍♂️
1alanmcc September 22, 2026 at 2:03 PM

"The important moment is not, as most fans assume, when the ball is caught, but when the pass is released." Ahh . . an interesting parallel to the most misunderstood rule in soccer - offsides - which is measured by where the players are when the ball is kicked, not when it reaches another player or strikes the ground. At least in soccer the ref can elect not to call it if the "technically" offsides player isn't materially involved in the play. That would be a nice carve out in football. Thanks for another interesting article. I enjoy the opportunities to learn more.
1. TechHokie13 September 22, 2026 at 2:22 PM
  
  Thanks for reading! And the soccer offsides is a great parallel. Missed opportunity on my part to work that in given the world cup coverage this summer 😄
soonerhokie September 22, 2026 at 1:44 PM

Good call on the OPI. If there is a downfield blocking OPI, it is almost always the receivers fault for crossing the line of scrimmage, not the stalk blocker.
1. TechHokie13 September 22, 2026 at 2:23 PM
  
  Yep, absolutely. Kind of like how a delay of game call is almost always attributed to the QB. That's always struck me as a bit unfair.
Burgrugby September 22, 2026 at 1:26 PM

I thought targeting was helmet to helmet on a defenseless player. His shoulder hit the helmet. I also don't think he launched to initiate contact. As others have said, I think he jumped to defend his own legs.
1. TechHokie13 September 22, 2026 at 1:35 PM
  
  We'll definitely get into that distinction, with a couple others, next week. Thanks for contributing!
skautdog September 22, 2026 at 12:02 PM

Tristan Thanks for the information and sharing your expertise.
1. TechHokie13 September 22, 2026 at 12:08 PM
  
  Thanks for reading!
VTScanlo September 22, 2026 at 12:01 PM

Another question, does "launch" mean leave your feet? If so, then Flowers did not launch. His feet only left the ground because of the collision between players.
1. TechHokie13 September 22, 2026 at 12:08 PM
  
  That's an excellent question. I'm not actually sure if it's defined by rule, but I'll go over how we interpret that in practice in next week's piece.
Tidewater Hillbilly September 22, 2026 at 11:56 AM

Not targeting! Flowers was making an instinctive attempt to AVOID contact by jumping over the receiver thus not having his knees slammed into AND clearly deliberately NOT making helmet-to-helmet contact.
1. TechHokie13 September 22, 2026 at 1:35 PM
  
  Thanks for the contribution!
VTScanlo September 22, 2026 at 11:55 AM

On the FatRat OPI, maybe I've got my O&M glasses on, but it looks like the defender engages him first (or more likely at the same time) and it's a "dual fight." What does a ref do when it's a tie in a situation like that? Is the flag on Fat Rat because he's winning the battle?
1. TechHokie13 September 22, 2026 at 11:58 AM
  
  Short answer: FatRat's leg drive. It's so clearly a block and not a route that I couldn't see any way to conclude that the defender was restricting his path up the field.
  1. VTScanlo September 22, 2026 at 8:08 PM
    
    That makes good sense right there. Thanks as always Tristan!
VTCC 65 September 22, 2026 at 11:51 AM

I only complain about the officials, I could never be one
1. TechHokie13 September 22, 2026 at 11:58 AM
  
  Not gonna lie, I respect the honesty 😂 Thanks for reading!
VT Dogster September 22, 2026 at 11:46 AM

Wait, it was Conference USA with B1H replay? One announcer couldn't stop complaining about it being ACC, especially the replay, how B1G is more transparent, which I found crazy, considering the Michigan game in week 1.
1. VT Dogster September 22, 2026 at 11:47 AM
  
  I meant B1G. Fat fingers.
2. TechHokie13 September 22, 2026 at 11:53 AM
  
  I choose to believe he was on drugs, because I find substance abuse to be a more acceptable explanation for his comments than pure incompetence.
  1. VT Dogster September 22, 2026 at 12:14 PM
    
    Lol!
3. Baltimore_Hokie September 22, 2026 at 12:34 PM
  
  I know for a fact that Roth said it was an ACC officiating crew on the radio call. I just listened to it again last night at the gym.
  1. TechHokie13 September 22, 2026 at 12:46 PM
    
    The HokieSports game summary disagrees. https://stats.hokiesports.com/football/live// That's where I got my info for the article.
hokietony September 22, 2026 at 11:10 AM

Definitely not targeting, IMHO of course.
1. TechHokie13 September 22, 2026 at 1:35 PM
  
  Thanks for participating!
TomTurkey September 22, 2026 at 11:00 AM

One angle (third(?), from LOS view?) seems to show separation and no head contact. Definitely a late hit IMO.
1. HokieEngineer September 22, 2026 at 12:34 PM
  
  That's along my reaction. He may have hit the helmet, but I can't tell. In that case, I'm going with the call the guys on the field made. (They have the advantage of hearing the contact as well.)
HokieCrazy1994 September 22, 2026 at 10:57 AM

Targeting. He makes contact with the helmet of the receiver and launches to do so.
1. TechHokie13 September 22, 2026 at 1:35 PM
  
  Thanks for participating!
IB4TECH September 22, 2026 at 10:51 AM

On the non DPI call on Reynolds first down catch, the ball was perfectly thrown beyond the line to gain and that is exactly where Reynolds high pointed the catch. That is elite play.
1. TechHokie13 September 22, 2026 at 10:59 AM
  
  Ridiculous throw and catch there for sure.
StedwardLongshanks September 22, 2026 at 10:44 AM

Textbook targetting: forcible contact to the head/neck area of a defenseless player.
1. TechHokie13 September 22, 2026 at 1:36 PM
  
  Thanks for participating!
HokieGator September 22, 2026 at 10:41 AM

Targeting. At first it looked like he slowed up, but then you see him launch and make forcible contact to the head.
1. IB4TECH September 22, 2026 at 10:53 AM
  
  I thought the launch was to avoid contact.
  1. HokieCrazy1994 September 22, 2026 at 10:58 AM
    
    I think he launched almost as a defense mechanism to brace for the contact, but I don't think the intent matters.
    1. delmarva hokie September 22, 2026 at 11:27 AM
      
      Looked to me that he was launching to try to jump over the receiver and wasn't able to do it in time. It's a late hit, but I think he was in a no-win situation since he was accelerating to try and tackle the receiver and couldn't stop in time.
      1. TechHokie13 September 22, 2026 at 12:15 PM
        
        Love the discussion here, y'all. Remarkably similar to what I experience in my association's film review sessions.
2. 75hoke September 22, 2026 at 9:54 PM
  
  I have targeting also based on the launch.
UTPr0sim September 22, 2026 at 10:37 AM

All but the first youtube videos are "Unavailable"
1. TechHokie13 September 22, 2026 at 10:59 AM
  
  Chris fixed it, should be working now.

Ask A Back Judge: Virginia Tech vs. Maryland

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