Rules changes unlikely after error in game
The officiating error that gave Central Michigan a chance to beat Oklahoma State is unlikely to lead to changes in the way officials enforce penalties at the end of games.
Rogers Redding, the former national coordinator of officials who sits on the NCAA’s football rules committee, said Monday the circumstances that led to the mistake were rare. He said the goal is to have rules that stay consistent throughout the game.
Also, Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said he does not want to play future nonconference games without officials from Power Five conferences.
Officials for nonconference games are determined by the schools as part of a contractual agreement. Gundy said he would encourage Oklahoma State athletic director Mike Holder not to sign a contract unless the officials are from a Power Five conference.
“The best ones will be at this level,” Gundy said.
In 2008, the College Football Officiating LLC was created by the NCAA and Collegiate Commissioners Association to put all officials under the same umbrella organization and create uniformity in training and education.
What flummoxed the MAC officiating crew Saturday in Stillwater, Okla., was a fourth-down intentional grounding foul against the Cowboys on what should have been the final play of the game with Oklahoma State up 27-24. The penalty calls for a loss of down, not a replayed down.
A quarter cannot end on an accepted foul — such as holding or pass interference — that does require a replay of a down. Only in those situations is any quarter extended with an untimed down.
“The extension of the period really means we’re going to go back and redo what we just did because that makes the period not over until you take care of that down,” Redding said.
The extra play turned into a crazy long touchdown that gave Central Michigan a 30-27 victory.
The officials admitted their mistake soon after the game. On Sunday, the eight-man crew along with the two replay officials were suspended for two weeks.
But if the rule had been applied correctly, Oklahoma State essentially would have received no penalty for committing a foul. While that might seem unfair, Redding said doing otherwise creates inconsistencies.
“You can say let’s make a special case at the end of the fourth quarter, but that’s a slippery slope because now do you want to create other circumstances where you want to do things differently toward the end of the game distinct from the end of the first half?” he said.