Here are the final seconds of the Brigham Young-Washington game, won by the Cougars, 28-27. Husky quarterback Jake Locker gets flagged for excessive celebration after scoring with two seconds left, forcing Washington to try a 35-yard PAT to tie the score. The PAT was blocked, leaving the Husky Nation in uproar. Barry Tompkins and Petros Papadakis on the call for Fox Sports Net.
Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times has the official statement on the call from referee Larry Farina. Steve Kelley of the Seattle Times writes that a flag should be thrown on the referees, as does Ted Miller of ESPN.com.
As for the BYU side of things, Jay Drew of the Salt Lake Tribune writes that he was "standing about 15 feet away from Locker when he scored the touchdown, and to say that he merely flipped the football in the air, or tossed it over his shoulder, is inaccurate." Jeff Call of the Deseret News says you can disagree with the rule, but you can't disagree with the call.
Our opinion? Right call, but a bad rule. Let the kids have some fun.
Since it was clearly a violation of rule 9-2-1c , please, for those who say it should not have been flagged, list all other rules they would like to see ignored:
1. ??
2. ??
3. ??
4. ??
Posted by: Stan | September 07, 2008 at 07:49 AM
That rule is crap. Sometimes an official has to make a judgment call even if it bends the rule a little. Bad call. Oregon ball!
Posted by: jhuerto | September 07, 2008 at 09:34 AM
The PAC-10 once again shows that they have the worst refs in the NCAA. Oklahoma/Oregon onside kickoff, anyone? Last year's USC-ASU game? Even in basketball, some of the worst refs in the nation. It's an embarrassment.
Posted by: Andrew | September 07, 2008 at 02:02 PM