Other Games Week 3

[rumseyhouse77]

At first, I thought it was a horrible call, but the more I've seen the replay, the more I'm convinced it was the correct call. The Texas player that picked it up didn't really pick it up to recover the ball. It was more of a courtesy, picking it up and giving it to the refs.

It's true that he picked it up before anybody else, but it wasn't an immediate attempt at a recovery. How do you give Texas the ball in that situation when a player was just trying to give the ball to the ref? Either way, the call would have been controversial.

If the Texas player had fallen on it and jumped around excitedly, I believe the refs would have given them the ball. Instead, he looked dejected, picked it up and handed it to the ref. This is why they didn't give him the ball. I haven't seen any expert commentary on this or even replays after the game was over, so maybe I'm missing something, but everything I saw during the game makes me think it was a correct call.

In any case, players need to stop doing this. My own rule is to go into the end zone, turn around and then you can drop the ball. It's not too difficult of a concept. When you're at the point of turning around or being mobbed by teammates, you're safe.

There was a ref off to the left running along with the ball carrier that called it a TD for some reason. He must have seen the player drop the ball before crossing the goal line. What was the Texas player to think? The ref is calling it a TD, so why would he jump on the ball all excited. I don't think it is in the rules that a player that recovers a fumble has to jump up and be excited about it. It is in the rules that the ball must cross the plane for it to be a TD, and if the player carrying the ball drops the ball in the field of play and the ball is recovered by an opposing player it is a turnover. I am pretty sure those are in the rules. It was the refs mistake to begin with for calling it a touchdown, and then the error was compounded by not giving the ball to Texas at the 20. Bad calls.