BCS - What to Watch for?

It’s Championship Weekend in college football! That means only one thing: Let the Bowl Controversy Starters (BCS) begin! In our latest version of “Rules of the Game” we break down the Bowl Championship Series, including how the teams are ranked and how the ten teams are chosen for the BCS bowl games. Then, we’ll look at the teams still in contention for a BCS bowl and make sure you know what to look for this weekend!

What is the Point of Instant Replay?

The Lions had many chances to win today. They missed an OT field goal, fumbled in OT in field goal range, and got sacked in the 4th quarter twice knocking them out of field goal range.

But they shouldn't have even needed it to begin with in their 34-31 OT loss today to the Texans. The loss knocks the Lions out of playoff contention, and it was largely impacted by a new rule that doesn't make sense.

When instant replay was first instituted into the NFL in 1999, everybody was excited. Calls that were missed on the field were finally able to be looked at a second time and be corrected.

However, it's becoming way too frequent where the instant replay system DOES NOT WORK!

For the NFL, the worst of these occurrences came on arguably the most-watched non-playoff game of the year: Detroit Lions Thanksgiving.

Houston running back Justin Forsett runs for about a six yard gain, gets tackled, but pops back up and runs 75 more yards for a touchdown. The refs did the right thing in not blowing the whistle. All scoring plays are automatically reviewed, meaning they would go to the monitor and see that his elbow and knee had hit the ground, so they would correct the call on the field. However, Lions coach Jim Schwartz threw the challenge flag, which is an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against the team. Further, because of the inappropriate flag throwing, the Lions cannot be the beneficiaries of any subsequent review. The result: an 81-yard touchdown run (Texans franchise record) that is a fraud.

So let's further break down not only this rule regarding the challenge flag on a non-reviewable play, but also the NFL instant replay system in general.

Rules of the Game - NFL Overtime

The NFL overtime rules changed this year. However, a rule that’s been in place for decades is causing confusion for players.

For only the fifth time since 1990, an NFL game has ended in a tie. In 2008 when his Eagles tied with the Cincinnati Bengals, Donovan McNabb became sort of the enigma of the NFL when he came out saying he didn’t know you could tie in the NFL.

He’s not alone. When the San Francisco 49ers and the St. Louis Rams tied on Sunday, players on both sides of the field were confused. Rams WR Danny Amendola was preparing for a second OT when the referee announced the game was over. 49ers S Dashon Gouldson was admittedly confused when he saw players going to the middle of the field to shake hands, wondering where everybody was going.

Maybe it is time for players to be fully aware of the rules in the NFL? As for the casual fan, here are the current overtime rules for the National Football League and how we feel about them.

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Prior to this year, the NFL ran overtime like a “sudden death 5th quarter” where the ball is kicked off like the start of a new game and the first team to score would win. That no longer is the case.

Now, both teams have a chance to possess the ball, kind of…

Upon winning the coin toss to start OT, a team may select to kick, receive, or defend a certain end of the field. It used to be that everybody would receive because if you score you win. That’s not necessarily the case anymore, and maybe some strategy can come into play now.

If the team who possesses the ball first in OT scores a touchdown, the game is over right there. If the team scores a field goal on their first possession, the defending team has the chance to match the score with a field goal of their own, or even to win the game by scoring a touchdown. If the score is still tied after both teams possess the ball once, the game advances into sudden death. If the tie is not broken before the 15:00 period ends, then the game ends in a tie.

Now, as for our analysis of the overtime rules: it’s the worst OT system in sports. The system improved with the addition of the possibility of both teams possessing the ball. We much prefer the college and high school football system where both teams are given the ball in scoring position (25-yard line in college, 10-yard line in high school) and they continue playing until the tie is broken. In the NFL, at least special teams are still a factor in terms of kickoffs and punts. But the system is still flawed in my mind.

And the biggest reason it is flawed is the possibility of a tie. There is no possibility of a tie in high school football, no possibility in college football, so why is there the potential of one in the NFL? I’d much prefer forgetting special teams and instead have both teams possess the ball at the 50 yard line. Either that or just run it like a standard 15 minute quarter and whoever leads after that time is the winner. If that second scenario is adopted, then ties SHOULD be implemented. I think the current system is better than last year’s, but it still has a long way to go.

 …especially when the players don’t know the rules….

Rules of the Game - College Football Jersey Numbers

This past weekend, Notre Dame and Pittsburgh battled in an instant classic that took three extra periods to decide a winner. The Irish kept their perfect season alive with a 29-26 victory, while Pitt’s upset special fell just short…or more accurately, it fell wide right.

In the second OT, Pitt had the opportunity to kick a field goal that would have won them the game. However, kicker Kevin Harper pushed the 33 yard attempt wide right. His miss extended the game to the third OT where Notre Dame QB Everett Goulson ran in the game-winning TD.

That third OT probably never should have happened.

Notre Dame should have been assessed a personal foul penalty on Pitt’s missed field goal. The penalty would have resulted in an automatic first down for the Panthers at the 8 yard line, essentially guaranteeing victory for Pitt.

But why should the Irish have been assessed a personal foul penalty? They didn’t rough the kicker, didn’t rough the holder, didn’t rough the snapper, and didn’t grab a facemask.  They honestly did nothing wrong.

Notre Dame should have been flagged for having two players wearing the same jersey number at the same time.

It's obvious that two players both wearing #2 were on the
field for the defense on this critical play. The question is,
how much did that even impact the result of the play?

Didn’t notice? Look again. Two players (Chris Brown and Bennett Jackson) both wearing #2 are on the field for the big field goal attempt. This should have been flagged, giving Pitt another chance at game-winning points in the second OT.

Now tell me this…WHY IS THIS EVEN POSSIBLE!?!? As in, why do college teams even allow for this possibility to occur?

Free Agency in College Athletics

In our latest installment of "What's Wrong With Sports" we take a look at what essentially amounts to free agency in college sports.

Free agency, with no salary cap, no limitations. That's what college football and basketball has become over the past couple of years thanks to the graduate student transfer rule.

When a student-athlete transfers from one university to another, that student-athlete must spend one year in residency at the new institution before participating in athletics at the new school. This costs the athlete one year of his eligibility, thus ensuring that he (or she...don't mean to be gender specific as this issue is going to affect both men's and women's athletics) does not change schools just go join a "better" program. If you decide to change schools, whether due to playing time or you just don't like the coaches anymore, you have to pay with a year of eligibility.

Rules of the Game: Unnecessary Roughness

Steelers’ linebacker James Harrison has done it again. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has done it again. The Harrison’s excessive actions on the field are only outdone by the overly-excessive punishment dished out by Goodell. In our latest Rules of the Game segment, we analyze the NFL’s crack-down on unnecessary roughness penalties, with special emphasis on helmet-to-helmet contact and “defenseless” players.

Rules of the Game: The Completed Catch

To kick off our new feature on examining some confusing rules in sports, let’s start with one of the most controversial rules in professional football: What constitutes a catch?

According to Rule 8, Section 1, Article 3 of the NFL rule book:
“A forward pass is completed…or intercepted… if a player, who is inbounds:
a). secures control of the ball in his hands or arms prior to the ball touching the ground; and
b). touches the ground inbounds with both feet or with any part of his body other than his hands.”