I've seen a lot of football in my lifetime. I have never seen a play like the one in the first quarter of the Michigan/Michigan State game. Ultimately, it did not matter all that much in a 35-21 Spartans win, but it will still garner some discussion for the next few days, I'm sure.Michigan had a 3rd-and-long at Michigan State's 19. Wolverines quarterback Steven Threet tossed one to running back Brandon Minor near the front left corner of the end zone where, it appeared, Minor caught the ball well out of bounds. The officials called for a replay -- apparently just to double check what had been called on the field -- but the replay seemed to confirm the call.
Or did it?
After the review, the referee signals a touchdown, citing that because Minor caught the ball while his foot was touching the front pylon - regardless of the fact that he landed at least a foot out of bounds - it was a touchdown.
Judging by MSU coach Mark Dantonio's subsequent screaming at the refs, he did not agree. Judging by the rule that ESPN cited soon after, he may have had a point. Rule 4.2 in the NCAA rule book online:
Player Out of BoundsThat rule book sentence from part b seems to be a direct contradiction to how the replay official explained the call via ESPN. So either this isn't the exact rule that they cited, there's some variation they hit on ... or they flat out blew the replay call.
ARTICLE 1. a. A player or an airborne player is out of bounds when any
part of his person touches anything, other than another player or game
official, on or outside a boundary line (A.R. 4-2-1-I and II).
b. A player or an airborne player who touches a pylon is out of bounds.
Remember, this is from the same rivalry that produced the Desmond Howard Trip to end MSU's 1990 win and the brutal clock controversy in 2001. Both of those calls went Michigan State's way.
Looks like Michigan may have gotten one back today - except, unlike that other pair of questionable calls, it didn't lead to a win.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
10-25-2008 @ 6:57PM
Pete Holiday said...
You can find the current NCAA football rule book here:
http://ncaapublications.com/ProductsDetailView.aspx?sku=FR08
A search through for things about pylons seems to confirm ESPN's analysis that it was a blown call. While the pylon itself is considered to be a part of the end-zone (Rule 1, Sec. 2, Art. 6; Rule 2, Sec. 31 Art. 3) the rule quoted (Rule 4, Sec. 2, Art. 1b) is pretty straight forward.
This is illustrated in a few of the interpretations: Approved ruling 8-5-1-X says this:
"Team A intends to punt from behind its goal line, but A36 muffs the ball. After A36 recovers the ball, the ball carrier strikes the pylon at the intersection of the sideline and goal line. RULING: Safety, unless the entire ball is beyond the goal line as the ball carrier contacts the sideline or pylon. The ball is dead at its most forward point when the ball carrier contacts the pylon or sideline (Rules 2-31-3 and 4-2-4-d and e)."
The refs really botched that call.
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10-25-2008 @ 7:16PM
STABE said...
Michigan State 35 Michigan 14
The pylon touchdown was pure fabrication for totally obvious reasons. Even if the receiver's foot had traveled inside of the pylon and not scraped it and also not landed in bounds, it would NOT have been a touchdown. The pass play can not be confused with a running play where the player who may be on his way out of bounds before the goal line sticks his hand out with the football and hits the pylon BEFORE going out of bounds. That IS a touchdown. NOT a pass caught with not even one foot touching clearly in bounds. This was a typical "leaning" call for Michigan in the Big Cheating House. The ref should be reprimanded and blew the call AFTER the replay.
A good thing that Michigan State left no doubt as to WHO won!
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10-25-2008 @ 7:22PM
Doug said...
Get over it. You won ... 35-21, not 35-14 though moron.
I'm sure you thought the refs were doing a great job when they called that totally bogus pass interference call to setup State's winning TD, though, right?
10-26-2008 @ 12:15PM
Dr Huxtable said...
That late PI call makes up for the several obvious PIs that the officials didn't call.
10-25-2008 @ 7:25PM
Erik J said...
For what it's worth, I also thought the replay showed that the receiver didn't fully secure the ball until after his foot had hit the pylon, which should have rendered it an incompletion anyway.
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10-25-2008 @ 11:36PM
jIM said...
If you watch the play the pylon was OUT OF BOUNDS to begin with
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10-25-2008 @ 10:41PM
pile on said...
my understanding is that the pylon has some kind of magical power, so that if you possess the ball and touch the pylon, it is a touchdown.
the rule book does not cover exactly this situation, but it does contain this:
RULE 2, SECTION 31, ARTICLE 3:
The goal lines and goal line pylons are in the end zone.
and this:
RULE 8, SECTION 2, ARTICLE 1
Approved Ruling 8-2-1
II. Runner A1, while attempting to score, strikes the pylon located on the right intersection of the goal line and sideline with his foot. He is carrying the ball in his right arm, which is extended over the sideline.
RULING: Whether or not a touchdown is scored depends on the forward progress of the ball as related to the goal line when the ball becomes dead by rule (Rules 4-2-4-d and 5-1-3-a).
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11-01-2008 @ 5:59PM
pile on said...
i stand corrected -- it was a bad call. incomplete pass: receiver out of bounds. little brother had game.
10-25-2008 @ 11:10PM
Pete Holiday said...
Your example is inapplicable because the receiver is not a "runner" -- he does not have possession of the ball.
There's no "magical" power, that ruling clearly shows that the runner is OB when he touches the pylon, therefore whether or not a touchdown is scored depends only on whether or not the ball has crossed the plane before he went OB. It's not magic, it's common sense.
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10-26-2008 @ 12:20AM
richard said...
In the grand scheme of things does it really matter? Michigan sucks, ans the Spartans are not much better, Okay they suck too. At the end of the year neither team will matter. So GET OVER IT!
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10-26-2008 @ 8:56AM
Stabe said...
Doug said...
Get over it. You won ... 35-21, not 35-14 though moron.
I'm sure you thought the refs were doing a great job when they called that totally bogus pass interference call to setup State's winning TD, though, right?
**********************************************************************
I took the touchdown off of the score for obvious reasons. Also, I am not a Michgian State alum nor a fan, just interested in fair play, especially when interpreting a rather black and white rule in the rule book. Plenty of time to get it right ON THE REPLAY! But the ref turned a correct call into a biased one for Michigan.. It happens FAR too often in the crooked house!
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10-26-2008 @ 12:56PM
jd720 said...
The pass interference call you refer to near the 20 yd line was a pretty easy and obviously correct call. The DB had no idea where the ball was and physically impeded the recievers path attempt making the reception. The one that wasn't called against U-M in the opposite end zone in the 3rd quarter was no more or less a penalty than the one that was called against MSU to lead to U-M's 2nd TD just prior to the half.
Try to remember more than one play for you nifty comebacks.
10-26-2008 @ 8:58AM
STABE said...
THANK YOU! Simple explanation, no magic necessary.
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10-27-2008 @ 4:56PM
John S Althaus said...
Couple of things:
1. I hear a lot about the foot but not much about where the ball was when the foot hit the pylon.
2. It's my understanding that the goal-line wraps around the world. That's why when a runner touches the pylon with the ball it's a touchdown eventhough the pylon is out of bounds.
3. It's my understanding that possession is control and one body part touching in-bounds (for college). Yes there was control, but no body part touched in-bounds (as the pylon is out-of-bounds).
4. We know that if a ball is caught in the air over the back of the end-zone but the player's momentum takes him out-of-bound, then this is clearly not a catch. The same should apply in this case.
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10-27-2008 @ 9:33AM
barry said...
That td for Michigan was bogus-period. Now for the moron that is droning on about the crooked house cheaters etc etc. these are big11 refs not Michigan refs so don't spartan bob me dude who worked for msu and did cheat the last time msu won(now that was cheating). Finally congrats to msu for beating the worst Michigan team in the last 40some years-thats some accomplishment!
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10-26-2008 @ 2:25PM
john said...
As long as the Michigan Coach treats his players as if they are incompetent losers on the biggest stage in sports and acts as though he's a lunatic.....I suspect this team will struggle. They are paying $2.5 million a year on the faulty assumption that he will do in the Big Ten what he did elsewhere. It's the Big House in the Big Ten and the Big Time. They already miss Lloyd Carr.....he didn't leave this bad of a team. He would have been at least 500 by now. And he had class. John
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10-26-2008 @ 5:10PM
Brandon said...
not only does that not apply to this article at all, but it also makes no sense and is baseless
10-26-2008 @ 8:46PM
Pete Manschot said...
#1 It was a bogus call - and the receiver was out of bounds. Yet MSU rebounded and showed heart. Some from U of M cannot get over their arrogance and find it hard to eat 'humble pie' once in a while. MSU was the better and stronger team THIS year. We will see what happens 'next' year - little Ann Arbor.
PM -MSU71
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10-26-2008 @ 10:35PM
Steve said...
I don't care about the call. The more important issue is getting rid of Dick Rod. He's ruined a fine program. Rebuild? Sounds like Matt Millen. There wasn't that much to do away with. The man can't even beat Toledo.
Send him back to West Virginia. Let them keep the money, Just get him gone.
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10-27-2008 @ 4:39AM
MD1533 said...
Michigan got away with one! The Replay Ref blew this call. The player clearly came down out of bounds and should not have been awarded the touch down! Everyone saw it clear as a bell including the annoucers! Thank God it did not effect the outcome of the game!
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