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Wednesday, December 01, 2004

A&M vs. Texas and 1 point safeties

There still exists some confusion on the 1 point safety award Texas in the annual Texas A&M vs. Texas matchup Friday after Thanksgiving. Texas was attempting an extra point and the kick was blocked. An A&M Defensive Lineman then scooped the ball up and took possession. He then fumbled into the end zone and an A&M Defensive Back fell on the ball for a safety. That is the way the TV commentators explained how the refs called it. The 1 point try became a 2 point try for A&M the other way when the DL picked up the ball. A safety in a 2 point try situation is a 1 point safety.

My ref friend Dave Taylor then told me how they should have called it. The kick was an illegal kick because it was a loose ball. You can not kick a lose ball. If you remember the holder was fumbling the ball (he did not have possession) when the kicker kicked it. The penalty is 15 yards and lose of down. Here is the rule from the rule book.


Illegally Kicking Ball
ARTICLE 4. A player shall not kick a loose ball, a forward pass or a ball being held for a place kick by an opponent. These illegal acts do not change the status of the loose ball or forward pass; but if the player holding the ball for a place kick loses possession during a scrimmage down, it is a fumble and a loose ball; if during a free kick, the ball remains dead (A.R. 8-7-2-VII).

PENALTY-15 yards from the basic spot and loss of down if the loss of down is not in conflict with other rules (Rules 10-2-2-c, d, e and f) [S31 and S9] (Exception: No loss of down if the foul occurs when a legal scrimmage kick is beyond the neutral zone).

4 comments:

MollyJ said...

So does that mean that nothing after the illegal kick should count? Why didn't any of the refs know that? And why didn't any of the coaches bring it up? B/c what your saying is there was a loose ball since UT lost control at the snap and a player unaware of the rules (?) kicked it? That was such a strang moment in the game. I want a replay!

Editor in Chief said...

I don't think everything stops when the kicker kicks a lose ball, but a flag should be thrown. The rule book is clear that you can't kick a lose ball. Why didn't the refs know, your guess is as good as mine, but probably because it has never happened. Why didn't the coaches or TV guys know, same reason probably.

Wes Raine said...

Thank you for the further clarification of the rule, however I'm not really concerned with it as much as I was while watching the game. If the final score had been decided by one point or the free point had caused the Aggies to fail to cover the spread, I'd still be upset, but it turned out that the point itself didn't matter.

However, the extra point may have pushed even more momentum back into the Longhorns court. As it was, the touchdown on the blocked punt gave the Longhorns some momentum, but the inexplicable extra point for missing the extra point deflated any momentum that the Aggies might have had left. It certainly seemed to confuse everyone involved. Chances are that we will most likely not see another one point saftey in our lifetimes. So for that, I will let the matter pass into the annals of college football.

MollyJ said...

Wes, I'm with you. I'm glad the game didn't come down to that 1 point. As much as I wanted UT to win, I don't think anyone wants to win shadily. Lesson learned for the game of football, I guess.

Question, though. This may sound stupid, but after A&M took control, then fumbled...if UT had recovered the ball in the end zone, how many points would that have been?