Western Michigan should have been given one more play.
Lots of people talking about what happened during the end of last Saturday’s best game of the week, but nobody is really talking about it beyond the surface level. Which is perhaps to be expected from journalists of whom sports journalists are merely the least smelly turds in the bowl.
Let’s correct that.
For those of you nerds who use the term “sportsball” unironically, let me catch you up. The Western Michigan Broncos appeared to have won 12–7 when the Michigan Wolverines’ final Hail Mary fell incomplete at the end of the game. Replay officials subsequently determined that Western Michigan defensive back Micah Davis had touched the ball while out of bounds. The controversy is that video evidence clearly shows the ball in the air and the stadium clock showing nothing but bagels. On further review, the officials found one second remaining on the super-secret official clock. That determination gave Michigan another opportunity, which they took full advantage of, winning the game when Bryce Underwood found JJ Buchanan in the end zone.
But let’s – and here you RPG fans need to sit down lest you die of shock upon hearing my radical proposal – let’s just check the rulebook on this.
In practice, the home team (or game host, which in this case is Michigan) is responsible for providing and operating the stadium/game clock. The clock operator operates the stadium clock according to the referee’s signals and NCAA timing rules. You may hear an on-field official order changes to the clock. This is because the officials don’t directly administer the clocks, they just ensure that accurate time is kept. The administration of the clocks is part of the home team’s obligations.
These clocks are very important. They communicate to the players how much time they have left to perform. A playclock requires a snap within so many seconds.
There have been cases where one of the stadium’s playclocks has been inoperable, and officials ordered both play clocks turned off so as not to advantage one team or another. The rule in question is NCAA Rule 3-2-4(d), “Device Malfunction,” if a visual 40/25-second timing device becomes inoperative, the referee must notify both coaches and both play clocks are turned off.“ This is not hypothetical. It happened in a 2005 NC State–Middle Tennessee game.
Let’s turn our attention to unsportsmanlike conduct. The current NCAA Rule 9-2-1-a says there shall be no unsportsmanlike conduct “or any act that interferes with orderly game administration” by players, substitutes, coaches, authorized attendants, or “any other persons subject to the rules.”
The officials often penalize the home team for crowd antics. A particularly relevant provision in Rule 9-2-5(b) states, “Physical interference with an official is a foul for unsportsmanlike conduct charged to the team unless the individual can be readily identified.” That’s important because it establishes the concept of a team-level penalty for conduct by someone other than a uniformed player, particularly when the offending individual can’t be identified.
In other words, the home team can be assessed an unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty because something under the control of its game administration interfered with the game. And it’s pretty clear that “improper clock management” itself qualifies as an act that interferes with orderly game administration under Rule 9-2-1. And a foul that occurs before the end of a period can be enforced after the clock reaches 0:00 when the rules call for an untimed down. The fact that enforcement takes place after the clock expires doesn’t itself prevent the penalty from extending the period.
Which means that the officials ACKSHULLY screwed up by not penalizing Michigan 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct and forcing a third shot at the Hail Mary.
And why it takes a humble miniature wargamer to do the heavy lifting on these rules questions is no mystery. These days, across the board, professionals are amateurs and the elites come from the ranks of the amateurs.
P.S. Anyone want to take bets on how long before Colin Cowherd steals this analysis without attribution? Wouldn’t be the first time.