The second half only because I completely got fooled by some program listings. I’ll leave it at that.
Ohio State has a 20-7 lead starting the second half.
They showed a bit of a ceremony honoring Chris Spielman on his pending induction into the College Football Hall of Fame. As a Lions fan, I have much love and respect for Spielman. He was one of the few greats to play for the Lions in my lifetime.
That being said, he’s apparently also working in the booth for this game along with Bob Griese and Dave Pasch (which seems like a new name to me).
12:29 – Navy’s Kwesi Mitchell is somewhat fortunate to not get flagged for a late hit out of bounds. It was close, but I think Mitchell could see that Dane Sanzenbacher had stepped out. A split second later and he likely would have gotten hit for 15 yards.
Oddly, despite the fact that the covering official ruled Sanzenbacher as having gone out of bounds and, hence, stopped the clock, the clock seems to have been re-started at the ready rather than at the snap. Couldn’t see if the white hat had given the signal to wind it or no, nor do I know if there is a different timing rule in NCAA of which I’m unaware, but that seemed like a bit of a gaffe. May have to reasearch that in case I need to eat those words.
12:11 – Left guard Justin Boren gets an early start, leading to a false start penalty. The clock stops for the enforcement and then starts again. On the following play, Ohio State gets called for a hold. It’s STILL second down!
Hey, what do you know? Learn something new for just a modicum of research. Turns out the NCAA has apparently attempted to shorten games a bit by restarting the clock on the snap after play goes out of bounds. Hence, I was absolutely under-informed regarding the clock there. I wonder whether that change will trickle down to the high school level.
Things are moving along very quietly in the third quarter for the officials. Navy, however, punches in a touchdown late in the third quarter to close to 20-14. This will definitely be fodder for Buckeye detractors.
Q4 13:19 – After a Navy fumble is recovered by Ohio State, Pasch (I think it’s Pasch) says he was surprised the Navy coach Kenn Niumatalolo didn’t ‘challenge’ the ruling of a fumble. No matter how much I slowed the replay down, I can’t figure even what would be worth challenging. Maybe, but only maybe, you could argue that the runner’s forward progress had been stopped and, hence, the play should have been dead, but that’s more a reach on my part trying to figure out what Pasch is thinking, as he mentions it a few more times as Ohio State moves quickly to the end zone for a score to make it 29-14, even implying after the score that the ‘ruling’ of a fumble was instrumental in the way the game has developed. I’d ask him if I could. He seems to have a curious opinion of the play. It was clearly a fumble to nearly everyone else, including the Navy sideline.
8:40 – OSU running back Brandon Saine appeared to have his face mask grabbed while running through traffic, actually forcing him to spin in a circle.
Sandwiched between discussion of lunch boxes and Ohio State’s ability to have fresh legs in the backfield by using either of two backs, Pasch asks, “Should have been a face mask here, guys, by Chase Burge?” Pasch didn’t wait for someone else to answer, “Yep. Any part of the helmet, including the chin strap, is a fifteen yard face mask penalty.”
Spielman and Griese seem disinterested. It’s a marked difference from the team in Raleigh on Thursday.
6:15 – Navy takes advantage of OSU’s failure to convert a fourth-and-two deep in Navy territory by going deep on the next play for an 85-yard touchdown pass, mostly on the legs of receiver Marcus Curry. There’s nothing about the officiating here. It was simply a remarkable turn of events. Why OSU coach Jim Tressel declined to attempt a field goal will have to remain a mystery as Navy draws to 29-21, leaving them to perhaps wonder where they might be without all their fumbles in the second half.
3:52 – Holy cats! Again, not as an official, but a football fan. Navy just intercepted an overthrown pass. They have a chance to tie the game with the ball at the OSU 33.
2:23 – Navy QB Ricky Dobbs looks to be happy to fall forward for a first down conversion on third-and-one, but finds nobody there to put him on the ground, so he scrambles for a touchdown. What a crazy turn of events. The crowd in Columbus is stunned. The looks on faces as the camera pans the crows show utter disbelief.
Happily, the game has been very smooth from an officiating stand-point and the broadcast team hasn’t felt the need to disparage the crew. It’s a good experience.
Alas, it was not meant to be. On the try, Dobbs’ pass is intercepted and returned for two points for Ohio State, leaving Griese to express disdain for the play call. Spielman agrees they should have run the ball.
2:23 (continued) – Navy attempts an onside kick, which does go the required ten yards and is grounded, but bounces over the heads of everyone and goes out of bounds untouched. The covering official marked the spot immediately and killed the clock. You can see another official come up to him and ask something, likely along the lines of “Did it go out of bounds untouched,” which received a nod in the affirmative, whereupon you had two officials reach for and throw their flags, except the covering official missed his flag as he tried to grab it and threw an empty handful of air. If that’s the worst thing to happen in the entire half, everyone should be happy with their game today.
Spielman thinks the “same official threw two” flags. Pasch offers that Navy may have been offside. I think they are both wrong.
And, the white hat clarifies that they are and the sun sets on Navy’s upset bid.
