End of OSU/Ore - Oregon intentionally put a 12th player on the field

[Sean Miller Fan]

CFB World Thinks Oregon Took Strategic 12th Player Penalty to Aid Upset Victory vs. Buckeyes

It was one of the most electric endings to a college football game this season.

www.si.com

Seems like they did this on purpose and if so, was an unbelievably great outside the box idea. The thought process is that OSU wouldn't be able to complete a pass vs 12 players so they'll give them the 5 yard penalty which still wouldn't put them in FG range. Its a rules loophole, really, because the clock continues to run. There are limited times when this strategy should be used but Saturday was one of them. I'd like to see more teams use this. Heck, put 15 or 16 guys on the field.

And BTW, horrible clock management by Ohio State. I say it every week but HC's are not smart enough individuals to manage the clock. You need to call a TO as soon as you can to extend the game and then even if that means you are out of TO's, you can calls plays to gain 1st downs or get out of bounds. That said, the OSU QB gave himself up.....when he lowered his ass which is what they go by....so there really should have been 1 second left.

Doesn't really matter because OSU will beat PSU and play Oregon in Indy and PSU can rest up for the CFP after playing 10 girls teams, USC, and OSU.

 

[HailtoPitt]

On the other hand, since the same can't end in a defensive penalty, it gives you a free pass further down the field.

But yeah, more teams will do this and they will have to alter the rules

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

Yeah, there a a number of rules loopholes to be exploited if you have a savvy enough staff. I've thought of quite a few myself, as merely an observer, over the years. Especially in college football, where PI isn't a spot foul.

 

[TD_6082]

CFB World Thinks Oregon Took Strategic 12th Player Penalty to Aid Upset Victory vs. Buckeyes

It was one of the most electric endings to a college football game this season.

www.si.com

Seems like they did this on purpose and if so, was an unbelievably great outside the box idea. The thought process is that OSU wouldn't be able to complete a pass vs 12 players so they'll give them the 5 yard penalty which still wouldn't put them in FG range. Its a rules loophole, really, because the clock continues to run. There are limited times when this strategy should be used but Saturday was one of them. I'd like to see more teams use this. Heck, put 15 or 16 guys on the field.

And BTW, horrible clock management by Ohio State. I say it every week but HC's are not smart enough individuals to manage the clock. You need to call a TO as soon as you can to extend the game and then even if that means you are out of TO's, you can calls plays to gain 1st downs or get out of bounds. That said, the OSU QB gave himself up.....when he lowered his ass which is what they go by....so there really should have been 1 second left.

Doesn't really matter because OSU will beat PSU and play Oregon in Indy and PSU can rest up for the CFP after playing 10 girls teams, USC, and OSU.

Clock management is one thing sitting on the couch in your living room. I'm sure it's totally something else to a HC on the sideline on gameday.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Clock management is one thing sitting on the couch in your living room. I'm sure it's totally something else to a HC on the sideline on gameday.

And that's exactly why it shouldn't be a HC's responsibility. Fans are actually better at it because they dont have anything else to worry about. If a college or NFL team paid me some nominal amount, I could manage the clock better than their HC and I truly mean that. Most of us could. Head coaches have proven over history that this isn't something they are capable of, mainly because they have 19 other things going on at the same time to worry about. This is why all teams should have a Clock Management Coordinator. And it doesn't have to be a full time position. Have some intern or other staffer do it. Its really easy but head coaches can't. You call time-outs AS EARLY as possible.

 

[h2p_5150]

Clock management is one thing sitting on the couch in your living room. I'm sure it's totally something else to a HC on the sideline on gameday.

It doesn't have to be though. You can have an analyst who focuses on clock management in the coaches head set. That way they can work on all the other stuff.

 

[PittPanther44]

The fact that we have a kicker that has 60 yard type range is a nice luxury. Funny that OSU couldn’t find someone like that.

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

It doesn't have to be though. You can have an analyst who focuses on clock management in the coaches head set. That way they can work on all the other stuff.

Yeah, more teams need to defer that stuff to someone who isn't in the heat of the moment. The one that ticked me off Saturday was at the end of the first half. Pitt sacked Cal to put them back at the Pitt 39 yard line with like 23 seconds left. Pitt needs to call a timeout there to make Cal punt. Because if you let them just bleed the clock to zero, you are giving them a free shot at the end zone or a free 56 yard field goal attempt.

It didn't end up costing Pitt, because Cal got an unsportsmanlike penalty after the play that backed them up another 15, but it's the fact of the matter.

And then it wasn't really clock management, but on that penultimate Cal possession I was preaching how Pitt needed to be super aggressive on the final set of downs because giving up a touchdown was okay but giving up a first down was absolutely not. As it turned out, Cal turtled up and ran it three times anyway. So we'll never know how Pitt would have approached it if they had made a better effort to get the first down. But I have a feeling it wouldn't have been with the mindset that conceding a touchdown was okay, because that goes against football instincts. As does a lot of this stuff, which is why it's too difficult for head coaches to manage in the heat of the moment.

 

[TheSpecialSauce]

CFB World Thinks Oregon Took Strategic 12th Player Penalty to Aid Upset Victory vs. Buckeyes

It was one of the most electric endings to a college football game this season.

www.si.com

Seems like they did this on purpose and if so, was an unbelievably great outside the box idea. The thought process is that OSU wouldn't be able to complete a pass vs 12 players so they'll give them the 5 yard penalty which still wouldn't put them in FG range. Its a rules loophole, really, because the clock continues to run. There are limited times when this strategy should be used but Saturday was one of them. I'd like to see more teams use this. Heck, put 15 or 16 guys on the field.

And BTW, horrible clock management by Ohio State. I say it every week but HC's are not smart enough individuals to manage the clock. You need to call a TO as soon as you can to extend the game and then even if that means you are out of TO's, you can calls plays to gain 1st downs or get out of bounds. That said, the OSU QB gave himself up.....when he lowered his ass which is what they go by....so there really should have been 1 second left.

Doesn't really matter because OSU will beat PSU and play Oregon in Indy and PSU can rest up for the CFP after playing 10 girls teams, USC, and OSU.

Illegal Participation is a 15 yard penalty. That means you have 12 or more players participating in the play. If a 12th player is in the process of running off the field but still on the field as the snap goes off, then it’s a 5 yard penalty for Illegal Substitution. That’s the rule in HS football. I’d assume it’s the same in college.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Illegal Participation is a 15 yard penalty. That means you have 12 or more players participating in the play. If a 12th player is in the process of running off the field but still on the field as the snap goes off, then it’s a 5 yard penalty for Illegal Substitution. That’s the rule in HS football. I’d assume it’s the same in college.

Why was it only a 5 yard penalty? Because the 12th player ran on the field late? I may be wrong here but the 15 yard penalty may be if you break the huddle with 12. The 5 yard penalty may be if you run a player on late which is what Oregon did. So just run out 10 extra guys after you break the huddle.

 

[cashisking884]

Why was it only a 5 yard penalty? Because the 12th player ran on the field late? I may be wrong here but the 15 yard penalty may be if you break the huddle with 12. The 5 yard penalty may be if you run a player on late which is what Oregon did. So just run out 10 extra guys after you break the huddle.

It’s never 15 in college under any circumstances. It’s only ever 5.

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

It’s never 15 in college under any circumstances. It’s only ever 5.

I was going to say... I've seen plays where there were 13 guys on the field, and announcers were laughing while they counted all of them, and I don't remember anything being 15.

 

[happjack]

Can't remember the rule, if Ohio State would have picked up yards on that play, would the 5 yards be tacked on to the gain or is take the yardage or the 5 yard penalty?

 

[TheSpecialSauce]

It’s never 15 in college under any circumstances. It’s only ever 5.

Whoever thought this was a good idea is a moron. The simple solution is to stick with the HS rule.

 

[MarshallGoldberg]

Apparently, at least according to the Sirius XM college football show this morning, the head referee has the ability to decide if a penalty was committed on purpose as a loophole and then is allowed to put time back on the clock and this ref declined to do so. Rick Neuheisel said he had seen that happen before when an offensive team told everyone to commit holding so they could run more clock out by having the QB run around in the backfield longer.

I'm not sure if it's true, just mentioning it was argued.

 

[pittdan77]

Seems like they did this on purpose and if so, was an unbelievably great outside the box idea.

Never heard of Buddy Ryan?