I've yet to see this identified properly, so my apologies for starting a new thread - thought it would get buried anywhere else...
The side judge got the On/Off alignment correct with #1 Crawford - first recognized him as "on", then acknowledged him backing off - there was no officiating mix-up with Crawford - just some pre-snap confusion.
The side judge also, CORRECTLY, recognized that we were in "End Over", meaning the SE had flipped sides and was covering the TE. So the side judge knew our TE was ineligible.
Where he screwed up was in NOT KNOWING THE PERSONNEL OF THE TEAMS HE WAS OFFICIATING - fine for HS games, not OK for the second biggest NCAA FB game of the opening weekend. As the play developed and concluded, he saw the TD catch, and also in the endzone he saw a giant TE #80, who he had already identified as "ineligible". Problem is, WHEATLY was the TE that was covered up, Hill #80 as you all know had come from the backfield.
The official correctly recognized the TE was covered up. Where he failed was in identifying the NUMBER of that covered TE. He just knew "the TE is covered", then saw a guy the size of a huge TE, wearing #80, standing downfield, and threw the flag without bothering to identify the number of the player covered, in comparison to the player number he was flagging.
Unacceptable given the lead time the crew had in knowing they were doing the game, and opportunity to become familiar with both teams (and no, "Michigan didn't provide a roster" isn't an excuse).
The side judge got the On/Off alignment correct with #1 Crawford - first recognized him as "on", then acknowledged him backing off - there was no officiating mix-up with Crawford - just some pre-snap confusion.
The side judge also, CORRECTLY, recognized that we were in "End Over", meaning the SE had flipped sides and was covering the TE. So the side judge knew our TE was ineligible.
Where he screwed up was in NOT KNOWING THE PERSONNEL OF THE TEAMS HE WAS OFFICIATING - fine for HS games, not OK for the second biggest NCAA FB game of the opening weekend. As the play developed and concluded, he saw the TD catch, and also in the endzone he saw a giant TE #80, who he had already identified as "ineligible". Problem is, WHEATLY was the TE that was covered up, Hill #80 as you all know had come from the backfield.
The official correctly recognized the TE was covered up. Where he failed was in identifying the NUMBER of that covered TE. He just knew "the TE is covered", then saw a guy the size of a huge TE, wearing #80, standing downfield, and threw the flag without bothering to identify the number of the player covered, in comparison to the player number he was flagging.
Unacceptable given the lead time the crew had in knowing they were doing the game, and opportunity to become familiar with both teams (and no, "Michigan didn't provide a roster" isn't an excuse).
