Here's the official idiocy of the officials as they explain their game deciding call.

[LIV4GOD]

I got this from Hawk Central.

“If you look a ground video of it, you might say this doesn’t look like much of a wave,” Carollo said. “But if you look at the high (camera view) over the top, he’s actually waving.​

​

What on God's earth does it matter what it looks like from a high camera view!! It only matters what it looks like from the ground view.

That statement right there shows how egregious that call is. It will go down in infamy.

 

[83Hawk]

I got this from Hawk Central.

“If you look a ground video of it, you might say this doesn’t look like much of a wave,” Carollo said. “But if you look at the high (camera view) over the top, he’s actually waving.​

​

What on God's earth does it matter what it looks like from a high camera view!! It only matters what it looks like from the ground view.

That statement right there shows how egregious that call is. It will go down in infamy.

The rule is open to subjective interpretation. Literally ANY hand movement could be construed as a wave.

The official chose to apply his unique interpretation at that time, in that situation. For whatever reason.

 

[LIV4GOD]

The rule is open to subjective interpretation. Literally ANY hand movement could be construed as a wave.

The official chose to apply his unique interpretation at that time, in that situation. For whatever reason.

Inexcusable, after reading the explanation.

 

[IowaPackFan]

The rule is open to subjective interpretation. Literally ANY hand movement could be construed as a wave.

The official chose to apply his unique interpretation at that time, in that situation. For whatever reason.

And I can 100% guarantee that had He fumbled the ball instead of scoring a TD, they would not have ruled the ball dead.

 

[Rifler]

The rule is open to subjective interpretation. Literally ANY hand movement could be construed as a wave.

And try running with stationary arms and hands,.. not reasonable.

 

[RollingBallofButcherKnives]

I feel bad for CDJ. He made a remarkable play. But as bad as that call was it is not what bothers me the most about this game. It is the offense and trotting out the worst qb in the United States time after time…

 

[RagnarLothbrok]

I got this from Hawk Central.

“If you look a ground video of it, you might say this doesn’t look like much of a wave,” Carollo said. “But if you look at the high (camera view) over the top, he’s actually waving.​

​

What on God's earth does it matter what it looks like from a high camera view!! It only matters what it looks like from the ground view.

That statement right there shows how egregious that call is. It will go down in infamy.

Yep, that explanation is stupid.

 

[hawkguy77]

I feel bad for CDJ. He made a remarkable play. But as bad as that call was it is not what bothers me the most about this game. It is the offense and trotting out the worst qb in the United States time after time…

I have listened to, watched and attended Hawkeye football games since 1962. I am done watching this year's team if Deacon Hill is still the QB in Wrigley Field. It is just too painful to sit there and know that the offense can't get the job done. I was encouraged after the Wisconsin game, but losing to the filthy rodents the way we did has extinguished my hope for this season to end well.

 

[LampoonYou]

I feel bad for CDJ. He made a remarkable play. But as bad as that call was it is not what bothers me the most about this game. It is the offense and trotting out the worst qb in the United States time after time…

Actually, the worst QB in US must be our QB #2 in Labas. He isn’t even getting a whiff of the field so he must be the bottom of the barrel.
Or……
Is it the QB coach who doubles as the O-coordinator and who has the worst offense in the US?

 

[BVHawkeye]

I talked to a MAC official today and he said it was the right call also. (Not an anti-Hawk fan). He did say the officials should have stopped it when Cooper touched it. He also said EVERY play is looked at in the booth. A very confusing rule. In his interpretation Cooper pointing wasn't the problem. His waving with the left hand made it an illegal fair catch signal.

 

[RollingBallofButcherKnives]

Actually, the worst QB in US must be our QB #2 in Labas. He isn’t even getting a whiff of the field so he must be the bottom of the barrel.
Or……
Is it the QB coach who doubles as the O-coordinator and who has the worst offense in the US?

No one will ever know if Labas is worse if he doesn’t get to play. He can’t throw any worse and he adds the option of the run, something Hill can’t do…

 

[LIV4GOD]

I talked to a MAC official today and he said it was the right call also. (Not an anti-Hawk fan). He did say the officials should have stopped it when Cooper touched it. He also said EVERY play is looked at in the booth. A very confusing rule. In his interpretation Cooper pointing wasn't the problem. His waving with the left hand made it an illegal fair catch signal.

His "alleged" waving.

 

[kceasthawk]

His "alleged" waving.

I can see them calling that waving. My issue is that this happens in almost every game, and its almost NEVER called. So WHY exactly was it called Saturday after that play, and not the countless other times it happens.

 

[LIV4GOD]

I can see them calling that waving. My issue is that this happens in almost every game, and its almost NEVER called. So WHY exactly was it called Saturday after that play, and not the countless other times it happens.

Cooper says it was just moving his arm to keep balance. It was a horizontal movement, that in NO WAY looked like a wave from the field point of view.

 

[sober_teacher]

I talked to a MAC official today and he said it was the right call also. (Not an anti-Hawk fan). He did say the officials should have stopped it when Cooper touched it. He also said EVERY play is looked at in the booth. A very confusing rule. In his interpretation Cooper pointing wasn't the problem. His waving with the left hand made it an illegal fair catch signal.

Had it been called live then this makes sense. To call it indisputable after review is ridiculous.

 

[ddelzell]

With respect to "the worst QB in the country", I don't believe it is possible to know if that is true. If Hill had just a average Iowa offensive line I think it would be possible to make that determination. In short, the Iowa offensive line sucks.

 

[hawkedoff]

Odey is from Nebraska.

It is now being reported that the official in the booth graduated from Minnesota.

 

[sober_teacher]

With respect to "the worst QB in the country", I don't believe it is possible to know if that is true. If Hill had just a average Iowa offensive line I think it would be possible to make that determination. In short, the Iowa offensive line sucks.

Regarding the OL this does become a chicken or the egg argument. Have they struggled because they’re not good or have they struggled because the scheme is broken and requires perfect execution for a play to have a chance?

 

[IowaPackFan]

Cooper says it was just moving his arm to keep balance. It was a horizontal movement, that in NO WAY looked like a wave from the field point of view.

At first I thought he was instructing his return team who had their back to the ball on which direction to go. When he said he was just using it to keep balance I was a bit suspect. After seeing it on the field level, I completely get what he was saying. He was pointing to his team, telling them which direction to go and he put his other arm out to balance when running sideways. I’ve actually tried it a couple times, and it makes it a lot more comfortable to have your other arm out too rather than straight at your side when you’re running sideways like that.

 

[LIV4GOD]

At first I thought he was instructing his return team who had their back to the ball on which direction to go. When he said he was just using it to keep balance I was a bit suspect. After seeing it on the field level, I completely get what he was saying. He was pointing to his team, telling them which direction to go and he put his other arm out to balance when running sideways. I’ve actually tried it a couple times, and it makes it a lot more comfortable to have your other arm out too rather than straight at your side when you’re running sideways like that.

Exactly. Yet it was called indisputable. The only indisputable aspect is the idiocy of the people in the review booth.

Turns out they decided to change the outcome of a game on a hunch.

 

[Hawkeye Marching Band]

I feel bad for CDJ. He made a remarkable play. But as bad as that call was it is not what bothers me the most about this game. It is the offense and trotting out the worst qb in the United States time after time…

Deac showed some potential in the first quarter, but nothing after that except for the 2nd quarter throw to Vines in the end zone that got the PI. He's gotten enough PT and first-team reps we should be seeing much more of that potential than we have. Is the stage too big for him, or is it what he is being asked to do?

 

[RollingBallofButcherKnives]

With respect to "the worst QB in the country", I don't believe it is possible to know if that is true. If Hill had just a average Iowa offensive line I think it would be possible to make that determination. In short, the Iowa offensive line sucks.

He sucks when he has time to throw too. No mobility either. He isn’t the only problem but I can’t see any other coach not give any other qb a shot. You can always put Hill back in if Labas self destructs…

 

[desihawk]

officials can spew whatever crap to cover their asses but cfb fans (and i’m not talking iowa fans) nationwide are shocked and stunned by that screwjob. yt and boards everywhere.

 

[SDHawkDoc]

It's an idiotic rule that's so open for interpretation as to be meaningless. Essentially, any motion of the hands can be interpreted as an invalid fair catch signal according to that. Any rule that has potential for such wide open interpretation should not be in the rule book. The only reason to have any such rule would be to prevent a punt returner from making a fake signal to deceive the kick coverage team. But honestly that's not even needed if there is a strict interpretation of what is considered a valid fair catch signal. The returner must have arm above shoulder level and complete at least one side to side motion. Anything other than that and no fair catch has been called for. If the intent is that the play is dead the moment the punt returner waves his hand then there should never be the possibility of a blocker on kick return causing a turnover when the ball accidentally touches him off a bounce. All the return team has to claim is that the punt returner was moving his hands and it's an invalid fair catch with a dead ball spot where it hit the ground since the PR is always waving his hands wildly for his blockers to get the hell away from the ball.

 

[BlackNGoldWings]

Here is the first paragraph from O'Dey's explanation:

“Let’s start with definitions that surround the play. With regard to it, there are valid and invalid signals that can be given during any kick play. An invalid signal is any waving motion by a receiving team member that happens throughout the kickdown. That’s the first piece of information you have to apply here."

He's quoting the NCAA rule book there. Read it carefully to see how stupidly written it is.

Under this rule, an absolutely perfect catch and return in which the actual receiver doesn't wave anything (probably difficult to do), can be called back if another player on the receiving team anywhere on the field makes a waving motion while the ball is in flight. That interpretation sounds like a dream for corrupt officials.

 

[icwesthawk]

Actually, the worst QB in US must be our QB #2 in Labas. He isn’t even getting a whiff of the field so he must be the bottom of the barrel.
Or……
Is it the QB coach who doubles as the O-coordinator and who has the worst offense in the US?

You'll never know. Kirk will keep the status quo for as long as he possibly can. While that mentality has probably been good for Iowa football overall, the downside is again showing its ugly face

 

[ketelmeister]

Had it been called live then this makes sense. To call it indisputable after review is ridiculous.

It’s not a penalty, it’s a downed ball.

 

[Libertylover]

I got this from Hawk Central.

“If you look a ground video of it, you might say this doesn’t look like much of a wave,” Carollo said. “But if you look at the high (camera view) over the top, he’s actually waving.​

​

What on God's earth does it matter what it looks like from a high camera view!! It only matters what it looks like from the ground view.

That statement right there shows how egregious that call is. It will go down in infamy.

It was a clean play on the field, no flags, so stoppage of play by officials, so who called for a review? If it was the officials, the only reasonable thing you may want to look at is if he went out of bounds . If that’s the case, I thought the review official could only make a call on what was being reviewed??

 

[LIV4GOD]

It was a clean play on the field, no flags, so stoppage of play by officials, so who called for a review? If it was the officials, the only reasonable thing you may want to look at is if he went out of bounds . If that’s the case, I thought the review official could only make a call on what was being reviewed??

Unfortunately, they have the power to look at other things. And, more unfortunately, they looked and saw what they probably wanted to see.

 

[Chishawk1425]

 

[Herky T Hawk]

I've posted the rules in a couple other threads. The rulebook allows a review of a fair catch to see if one was requested. It doesn't specifically allow a review of an invalid fair catch. It also explicitly says that an invalid fair catch is not a fair catch. Because of that, an invalid fair catch is not reviewable.

The invalid fair catch signal is a judgment call during the play. If the refs had blown the whistle during the play, we'd be pissed but most of us would deal with it. The problem is that they can't go to the review and then add a judgement call, that isn't allowed to be reviewed by the rulebook, after the fact. That is what pisses me off the most.

 

[myteamcanbeatupyourteam]

The requisite technique for chasing down punts.

 

[Herky T Hawk]

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This can't really be the same ref two years in a row can it?

 

[Chishawk1425]

This can't really be the same ref two years in a row can it?

View embedded media

Yes it is.

 

[Sett1997]

Actually, the worst QB in US must be our QB #2 in Labas. He isn’t even getting a whiff of the field so he must be the bottom of the barrel.
Or……
Is it the QB coach who doubles as the O-coordinator and who has the worst offense in the US?

We've seen Labas, he's not even close to as bad as Hill.

 

[Franisdaman]

It's pretty sad that someone had to go back to 2015 to find an example of when this was ever called (see below, where the same thing happened and a punt return for a TD was taken off the board).

And let's face it. EVERYONE was confused by the ruling. Hell, Chris Williams, an Iowa State guy, had to make some calls to figure out what the truth was (it is the rule, but they NEVER call it).







This was called in a game way back in 2015. You have to wait to the ending to see the waving of arms.

Click on the PLAY button

 

[83Hawk]

On rules like this that are vague and subject to interpretation.....common sense should prevail.

I hope if any of the men involved in making this decision are ever driving in Iowa, and are going even 1 mile over the speed limit.....they are given a ticket.

 

[Franisdaman]

I can see them calling that waving. My issue is that this happens in almost every game, and its almost NEVER called. So WHY exactly was it called Saturday after that play, and not the countless other times it happens.

Has there ever been a more confusing, controversial ending to an Iowa sporting event?

 

[iahawks10]

This can't really be the same ref two years in a row can it?

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Remember, refs are trained to let it play out……. Oh wait, we’ll just stop the play when it’s convenient.

 

[83Hawk]

Remember, refs are trained to let it play out……. Oh wait, we’ll just stop the play when it’s convenient.

That makes sense on things like fumbles and out of bounds....but not in this case.

Let it play out? Let WHAT play out? And why? To see the result of the play before deciding whether or not to make the call?

Stupid, stupid, stupid. If the official thought there was an invalid fair catch, then there is ZERO reason to "let it play out".