Thank you Rece Davis. Thank you! (HUNH Offenses)

Bamabuzzard said:

I'll never forget one of the first games of the year last season where I believe Vandy and Ole Mist played. I sat there and watched time and time again both offenses not get set before snapping the ball, illegal formations etc., you name it. But they were going so fast the refs didn't see it. I also believe that was the game one of the announcers pointed out that the offense had substituted but they got to the line and snapped the ball so fast the refs didn't see it and didn't properly allow the defense to substitute.

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what really chapped me was in last year's barn game i think, where we were getting "phantom" motion calls, and their o-line looked like a whack-a-mole game during a power surge and i don't recall them being called on it much if at all.

Bamabuzzard said:

Why am I not surprised? :rolleye2:

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i also got really ticked when gus had the gall to yell at the refs about one of our injured d-linemen (ivory i think) supposedly faking his injury to slow down the pace of the game. this was not too long after the barn linebacker was caught red-handed dong the same think a few games earlier.

I had always thought that the OL was not allowed to block downfield , except on running plays. That is until I watched Auburn play and the Refs ignored the violation. THANK YOU RECE for calling that to every ones attention.

92tide said:

i also got really ticked when gus had the gall to yell at the refs about one of our injured d-linemen (ivory i think) supposedly faking his injury to slow down the pace of the game. this was not too long after the barn linebacker was caught red-handed dong the same think a few games earlier.

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Reminds me of an ex-girlfriend accusing me of cheating straight out of the blue. Want to guess what she was doing?

LTBamaFan said:

I had always thought that the OL was not allowed to block downfield , except on running plays. That is until I watched Auburn play and the Refs ignored the violation. THANK YOU RECE for calling that to every ones attention.

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The OL can block downfield if the pass is made behind the line of scrimmage. The play in the barn game, yes the olinemen were blocking downfield because they thought the qb had broken the play and was running. He pulled up and threw the pass downfield...just an absolute blown call by the officials.

gman4tide said:

The OL can block downfield if the pass is made behind the line of scrimmage. The play in the barn game, yes the olinemen were blocking downfield because they thought the qb had broken the play and was running. He pulled up and threw the pass downfield...just an absolute blown call by the officials.

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and our cb keyed on this leaving the receiver wide open

This. And I think the HUNH teams are specifically game-planning to take advantage of officiating short comings. The pressure will have to come from press and fans. The teams that are exploiting the officials sure aren't going to say anything. Coaches at schools that do not run it cannot get away with criticizing officials. CNS has come as close as anyone by drawing exactly the comparison RD did to the NFL. The game should proceed the same way for both teams. If you are letting the air out of the game you can't get the officials to walk more slowly to set the ball for the next play, why should they run for the HUNH teams. And why should those teams be allowed to snap the ball while the official who marked it for play is still in front of the linebackers or even passing through the defensive front? If we are going to change the game by saying the officials have to accommodate the pace of play of one team over the other, let's at least debate that and not just do it.

RTR91 said:

Found a transcript of his press conference. Here's the relevant parts:

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Much appreciated. I wonder what a crisp jog is.

Bout time! Hopefully we will see some improvement. If the stripes start calling more illegal motion, shifts, and men down field, it will really help.

TIDE-HSV said:

I had to switch to another browser myself. He basically said that the 8th official is to cover the middle, so the umpire will have time to assumed the correct position. The ump will put the ball down and then look to the ref to see if there are any subs. If not, the ump will assume his position using a "crisp jog," whatever that is. If they'll stick to that, it looks to me to benefit us. IOW, it sounds like they are going to allow time for subbing before the ball is made available to snap. If I'm understanding his correctly, it's going to jerk a knot into the HUNH offenses...

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That's how I've been hoping this would play out. A move that's way overdue in my opinion.

I'll see how this is all implemented before I get truly excited. I am hopeful that college football will become an "organized" sport again instead of all this backyard ball.

I think he is spot-on. This is the proper way to address the HUNH. The rules are already in place, just find a way to enforce them. If they truly follow up on this and stop catering to the HUNH teams, I think the balance will shift back. I think if the rules are properly enforced the HUNH does not offer as much of an advantage...the biggest advantages are coming in the form of being able to bend the rules and/or even break them to the team's advantage because the refs are too pressed to see everything, and it is naive to think some of it is not intentional.

This issue is really centered around a lack of information.

Most football fans are not really aware of how the relatively recent clock changes impacted made it possible for offenses to do things that up until that point they simply couldn't do. Also, this point about the refs is very valid, and I do wish the NCAA would respond more like the NFL, which is that the refs run the game, the offense doesn't.

Thank you Rece for speaking out, and Bamabuzzard for sharing this !! Roll Tide !!

Bamabuzzard said:

I'm not sure if anyone caught CFB Daily yesterday on ESPN U but it was the segment where Danny Kanell, Rece Davis and Butch Davis were at Auburn discussing their upcoming season. The last part of the segment was the discussion about the HUNH offenses and the arguments from both sides of the isle. After the two other nimrods put their .02 in Rece finally said what I've yet to hear any person on air say. He said (and I'll give a summary rather than quote):

Let's be honest. Parties on both sides this argument aren't some sort of benevolent party truly concerned about the greater good of the game. Both sides are trying to gain an advantage and I believe the HUNH offenses have done that. My only issue with the HUNH has nothing to do with the teams or the coaches who run them. But with the officials. Too many times the officials are assisting the offense to help them run their pace of offense. We've sat in the studio watching games and time and time again offensive violations are missed due to this. I wish they would adopt the attitude of the NFL in that they don't care what pace you run your offense, but the officials aren't going to run at that pace. I think that needs to be a point of emphasis in college. Because too many things are being missed by the officials that are benefiting the HUNH offenses.

I stood up from my recliner and yelled "PRAISE THE LORD!!! THANK YOU RECE DAVIS!!!".

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As I understand it, the offense has 40 seconds to get a play off unless it is a change of possession, team called time out, TV time out, officials time out, or attempting the PAT following a touchdown. After one of these occurrences the play clock is reset to 25 seconds. On an incomplete pass while the scoreboard clocked is stopped the 40 second clock continues to run. It is the responsibility of the officiating crew to manage the pace of the game

This has been my issue with the hunh the entire time. If a team runs its offense more quickly but within the rules, i say more power to them, and it is up to the defense to stop them. However, they should not get to break the rules because that is "how they play." It is the same argument people used to use for basketball teams that pressed a lot. They were allowed to hack and slap and push without getting many fouls called because it was deemed "how they play." If how they play is illegal, they should not be allowed to do it. Rant over.

I don't like the fact that the replay officials don't have enough time to review plays, but have plenty of time to review ours.
That's why I think they need at least ten seconds after a play to look at the previous one.

fralo4tide said:

Dude, he used the word benevolent! I'm 38, and I don't think I've ever used that word. :smile:

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That word use to be used a lot on this board. Usually in conjunction with dictator.

As for the HUNH, I think it will be slowed considerably by rules changes in the not to distant future.