Throw a flag on excessive-celebration rule
Posted: Sunday, September 07, 2008 8:35 AM
Fittingly enough, this week’s EXTRA POINTS is a rant about Saturday’s most infamous extra point -- Washington’s 35-yard PAT attempt with two seconds remaining that could have sent the Huskies into overtime with Brigham Young.
If you’ve been hiding under a rock or too busy partying in Greenville, here’s how it went down.
Washington kicker Ryan Perkins got pushed back 15 yards due to an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty called on quarterback Jake Locker, who tossed the football high into the air and celebrated with his teammates after capping off a dramatic 17-play drive with a 3-yard touchdown run.
We’ll never know what would have happened if Perkins’ PAT was attempted from the normal 20-yard distance or if the Huskies would have eventually decided to go for a two-pointer.
What we do know is that BYU’s Jan Jorgensen blocked the 35-yarder, preserving a 28-27 Cougar victory, perhaps assisted by a lower trajectory or some other factor associated to the shocking penalty.
Something else that’s certain is the realization that this season’s new “point of emphasis” to curb player celebrations has got to go. The NCAA needs to make the proper revision in the offseason and fix this. Much like they’ve done this season after fouling up the timing rules two years ago.
Beginning with thunderous booing that rained down at Husky Stadium, referee Larry Farina and his crew have taken plenty of heat. But they maintain that they were just doing their jobs, following instructions and the rulebook that specifically calls for a flag in that football-tossing situation.
That’s simple enough. But it’s so illogical, especially when factored into the particular situation.
There were just two measly seconds left. Washington, the Pac-10’s cellar dwellers with its coach sitting on the hottest seat in land, had just scored a dramatic touchdown against the No. 15 team in the nation. Emotions were running high and fun was being had.
College football players don’t experience these types of moments on a weekly or even yearly basis. Let them play. Let them decide the game.
Aside from the guys in the striped shirts, no one in the entire stadium, including BYU’s sideline or cheering section, would have suggested that Locker be penalized for expressing his joy after tumbling into the end zone.
Well … scratch that. Perhaps the supervisor of officials up in the press box would have left a note on the evaluation form, reminding the crew of the NCAA’s silly new emphasis to criminalize celebrations. However, even in that instance, it would seem likely that the phrase “good no-call” would have been scribbled alongside.
Farina has been called into question before and was actually removed from “bowl game consideration” by the Pacific 10 Conference last November due to a messy game in which his crew’s indiscretions (along with replay officials) assisted these same Huskies in a losing cause at Oregon State.
Yes … believe it or not … Locker was flagged by a Pac-10 crew.
And that call could very well come back to haunt the league.
BYU came into this week’s action as the nation’s highest-ranked non-BCS team. These sorts of programs are public enemy No. 1 to the Pac-10, making it that much tougher to place a second league team into the lucrative Bowl Championship Series as an at-large selection.
If the Cougars can beat UCLA in Provo next week and close the regular season with a win at Utah, there isn’t much else standing in the way of them locking up a BCS berth. That’s not good news for the Pac-10, which has struggled to cash in with a second team even when there isn’t a BCS-busting qualifier in the mix.
Incredibly, the Pac-10 has had only two at-large selections in the 10 years of the BCS, and none since USC in 2002. Handicapped by its reputation as a light-traveling league, the Pac-10 needs all the help it can get. And it didn’t get any on Saturday in Seattle.
