FSU clock rules

[Penn State fan]

I would like to know the difference between this situation and the one last night. Tonight, the lsu player was in bounds, but they still gave lsu an extra play.
Doesn’t matter, since FSU still won the game, but would like to know if there was a rule change from last year.
Below is last years game ending.

[lefty17]

Clock stopped for a first down. Had FSU not called a timeout,LSU would have had to snap the ball immediately on the ready to play. You can run a play with less than 3 seconds left but not a spike since in NCAA at least 2 seconds have to come off the clock.

[zebrablog]

First of all, the replay should not have happened. There is no reviewable element, since the dead-ball spot is substantially the same for both out of bounds and down by contact. Therefore, the only thing that is being reviewed is the clock status, which is not a reviewable element. Clock status by itself is not reviewable, because it requires stopping the game, and either outcome winds up distorting the time that a replay is not remedial.

Had the call on the field been DBC, the clock stops momentarily for the first down. It restarts on the referee's ready signal. However, in a clock-critical situation, no one wants to see the offense get rewarded with the clock stoppage and have the game end with the ball on the ground. So the offense will get the chance to get the snap in within a reasonable amount of time.

In this case, the announcement that LSU would get one more down was more of a expedient way to express that they will get the snap in, and the ready for play will coincide with the snap.

[ak482]

Sept 9, 2022 22:33:51 GMT -5 zebrablog said:

First of all, the replay should not have happened. There is no reviewable element, since the dead-ball spot is substantially the same for both out of bounds and down by contact. Therefore, the only thing that is being reviewed is the clock status, which is not a reviewable element. Clock status by itself is not reviewable, because it requires stopping the game, and either outcome winds up distorting the time that a replay is not remedial.

Had the call on the field been DBC, the clock stops momentarily for the first down. It restarts on the referee's ready signal. However, in a clock-critical situation, no one wants to see the offense get rewarded with the clock stoppage and have the game end with the ball on the ground. So the offense will get the chance to get the snap in within a reasonable amount of time.

In this case, the announcement that LSU would get one more down was more of a expedient way to express that they will get the snap in, and the ready for play will coincide with the snap.

Couple of things:
1) When did clock status not become a reviewable element? I'm thinking back to when officials gave Texas 1 second via replay in the 2009 Big XII title game, time enough to kick a game winning field goal to send them to the BCS Championship game.

2) I don't think anyone on the broadcast at ABC mentioned that this play was not reviewable. Major downgrade if so. Almost sounded like Mike Norvell was hoping to get a 10 second runoff to end the game.

[zebrablog]

The expiration of the clock is reviewable in limited circumstances. Also, the time and the clock status are always a consideration in review *of another element* ... in other words, if a player stepped out of bounds on a run along the sideline, the boundary is the reviewable element, and the clock is reset to the proper time. But the status (running/stopped) of the clock only is not reviewable.

One additional point above regarding reviews of spots that are substantially similar: I should mention that it is reviewable if the goal line or line to gain is involved.

[lefty17]

I thought I heard Vander Velde announce that FSU challenged the call that the runner was out of bounds.

[zebrablog]

That is correct. But in vs. out is essentially the same spot, so it becomes a review that only affects when the clock runs.

Put it another way: a review of down by contact or runner out of bounds can only be used if (1) it moves the ball to a spot of a previous point in the run, (2) it involves the goal line, or (3) it involves the line to gain. In this case, in vs. out will only affect the clock status, and at that, only the restart aspect. Even if LSU did not get the first down, replay cannot jump in to only create a running clock. There must be a completely different spot (in #1) or a refinement (related to #2 or #3).

I know it sounds very technical, but there is a reason that it was constructed that way. Other than explicitly reviewing the expiration of the clock (which is itself very limited), the calculus was that a stoppage to see if the clock should be stopped did not make much sense, especially if the review stands. Philosophically, that would then apply to the same situation with the clock stopped as called on the field.