Hope we have a good game. Enjoy it and post officiating observations here.
Monday, January 10, 2022 CFP National Championship - Indianapolis, IN (3) Georgia vs. (1) Alabama Officials - ACC R - Duane Heydt U - Johnnie Forte HL - Matt Fitzgerald LJ - Steve Matarante FJ - Ryan Flynn SJ - Jeff Shears BJ - Keith Parham CJ - Adam Savoie
Scoop and score reversed to incomplete. Good for the crew to keep the play alive. Replay can always make a live ball dead, but they can't make a dead ball alive.
Heydt, Savoie and Shears are ODP Officials so they are definitely worth keeping an eye on, especially with 7 retirements coming. And yes that is the same Keith Parham who was fired from the NFL. He has made a nice career for himself post NFL in the AAC and now the ACC.
Great observation by the crew to penalize Alabama for disconcerting signals. This is categorized as a "delay of game."
This is viewed by current philosophy the same as if the defense were to yell "hut", "hike", "go", or other signals that simulate the offense's snap count. If you notice, Georgia uses a clap to start each play. Alabama's clapping prior to the snap clearly caused the Georgia offense to false start.
Great observation by the crew to penalize Alabama for disconcerting signals. This is categorized as a "delay of game."
This is viewed by current philosophy the same as if the defense were to yell "hut", "hike", "go", or other signals that simulate the offense's snap count. If you notice, Georgia uses a clap to start each play. Alabama's clapping prior to the snap clearly caused the Georgia offense to false start.
After further review:
This is viewed by current philosophy the same as if the defense were to yell "hut", "hike", "go", or other signals that simulate the offense's snap count. If you notice, Georgia uses a clap to start each play.
However, if you look at the player in question, he is giving a defensive signal by banging his closed fists together. In addition, the Georgia offense does not appear to react to this. Normally, the officials will not call this unless there is a reaction by the offense.
Due to the lack of reaction and the fact that the defense did not actually appear to be clapping, the crew should not have flagged this action.
Last Edit: Jan 10, 2022 20:52:13 GMT -5 by FredFan7
What crews did each of them work on during the regular season?
We have your request. Football Zebras doesn't have crew assignments for FBS conferences. Several here follow that, and I'm sure they'll answer your request.
And yes that is the same Keith Parham who was fired from the NFL. He has made a nice career for himself post NFL in the AAC and now the ACC.
I am so glad for Parham. For whatever reason, he wasn't a good fit in the NFL, but I'm happy that he is a top level official in the ACC. Glad he can keep his officiating passion going.
Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett handed the ball off to running back Zamir White, who then pitched the ball back to Bennett. With no good prospects, Bennett threw the ball to an area where there was clearly no eligible receiver.
Quarterbacks are given some leeway by the rules to be able to throw the ball away to avoid a sack. However, before even getting to those scenarios, the player that throws the ball must be the player that controls the snap (most often the quarterback) and who does not relinquish possession to another player.
Because Bennett had relinquished possession, his relief under the rules to be able to ground the ball goes away. Therefore, when the pass fell to wide open greenery, field judge Ryan Flynn brought referee Duane Heydt the information that there was no eligible receiver in the area, and Heydt dropped the flag for intentional grounding.
On this blocked field goal, because Georgia touched the kick beyond the neutral zone, they will then start their next possession at the spot they ultimately recovered the ball and fell to the ground. Had they let the kick go with only the block, it would be treated as a missed field goal and the ball would be brought back to the previous spot.
Good job by umpire Johnnie Forte and back judge Keith Parham to get their flags on the ground even amidst the congestion of players. They knew that the penalty enforcement did not depend on the spot of the foul, so rather than land the flag on someone's back (or worse, stick it in someone's facemask), they calmly threw their flags to an area where no player was.