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It's also to hep the officials believe it or not. When trying to track players during a play having similar colored jerseys makes that very difficult. I've had to work middle school all-star games where one team has navy blue jerseys and the other has black jerseys. Since we have look very...

There are balls from both teams on both sidelines. In most games the home team provides the ball boys for both sides, but some schools do have their own personnel handle their footballs on both sides. I'm guessing that's what they are doing here. Coaches are paranoid having someone else handling...

You are correct. If the runner's knee is down at the point of the graphic and he hasn't touched the pylon or anywhere else in the end zone, he doesn't get the goal line extended. The ball would be spotted at the foremost point of the ball when it crossed the sideline plane. Since the ball is...

The runner only gets the goal line extended if he gets something in the end zone. That includes the pylon. The announcer as usual was completely wrong in explaining the rule. Replay must have had a good view the ball was still short of the goal line when he touched the pylon. If he hadn't...

That is definitely when it can happen. It's not common but it does happen. As for the first part of your post above, a runner is down when he's in possession of the ball and anything other than his hand or feet touches the ground. The wrist is considered part of the hand. And the top of the...

It was close for sure. It's a judgment call if the brief moment the ball touched the ground helped him complete the catch then it would be incomplete. But replay felt it was a catch so I'm going with that. The grader and supervisor may think differently but things are that tight they generally...

He was going to the ground as part of completing the catch so he's not a runner yet. The fact he has control at that point is not relevant yet. If he was already considered a runner than the ball would be dead at the point of this photo.

Post season uses mixed crews so the referee doesn't work with their regular crew members. Some conferences give their #1 rated official at each position the conference championship game and some give them their top bowl game. Some mix it up and some do both. In general though the conference...

No such rule as "the ground can't cause a fumble". That's more announcer-speak. There is a basis of truth in the statement though. It assumes the runner already has possession of the ball. If anything on the runner other than hands or feet touch the ground the ball is dead. If that happens and...

NCAA Football Rules committee meets next week. A survey was sent to coaches, administrators, and officials today asking for feedback. This usually gives you an idea of some of the key things they are going to discuss. There were two questions related to the fake injury issue. One points to a...

This conversation has evolved into one person saying 1+2 = 3 and the other saying the sky is blue. Both are true but they are different topics. And now the end of half mechanics are a different topic. On your point #3 above I have no reason to doubt your facts so no need to look them up. Those...

We aren't hustling a little more at the end of a half because a coach is asking us. We are going a little faster because everyone treats the clock with more urgency at that point. If 2 extra seconds run off a clock after a play midway through the 1st quarter nobody says boo. If that happens at...

I am a 12-year veteran college football official so I feel fairly confident in what I'm sharing. Ball mechanics and a consistent pace are a big part of what we talk about at meetings, clinics, and pre-game discussions. It's a big part of how a crew is evaluated and something fans rarely notice...

That may be your perception but the reality is both NFL and NCAA ball is ready for play about the same time. In many cases it's ready faster in the NFL because they have better ball personnel and are more efficient in getting the ball in and placed. And almost always the crew is ready for the...

That's a valid way of saying it. There are probably other factors to offenses choosing to go up tempo, but I'm not a coach so I don't know what they are. I do remember a national championship game where Oregon faced a defense that was able to get some 3-and-out drives early in the game which...

I agree with everything you say here. But I don't see how it relates to the original point there are rules in the NFL that don't allow a team to go as fast as NCAA. There are no rule differences affecting the pace throughout the game and the clock stoppage issue at the end of a half would cause...

If you watch closely you'll notice the clock starts on first downs in bounds most of the time within 4-6 seconds of stopping in NCAA. This will happen before the ball is placed. As you get closer to the end of a half when time is more critical the R will make sure the ball is set and ready...

All divisions use the same rule. We were supposed to get a $10 raise/official/game at the D3 level but it has been suspended the past 2 seasons due to budget restrictions. They aren't adding an official for this purpose. It would be the responsibility of the officials on the field to track it...

I've seen this a few times, but I'm not aware of any rule differences affecting a different pace of play. Both have a 40-second play clock and the ball is usually placed and ready for play 28-32 seconds most of the time. The official won't step away from the ball until the crew is in position...

My guess is the best and simplest approach will be all defensive injuries where the game is stopped to address it will force the player to miss the rest of the series. This is the simplest and easiest to enforce. And it would apply at any point in the game and any defensive injury. Trying to...