"Do not get it, will never be"

They could get lost in the madness. Surprised by the ridiculous offensive firepower that allowed Oklahoma to win a 59-56 victory over West Virginia and the Big 12 championship game. But Mountaineer fans have not forgot the two critical penalties that changed the form of the shooting. And after the dust cleared, Dana Holgorsen, coach of West Virginia, either.

"I do not understand," said Holgorsen, resigned, carrying a flag canceling the touchdown and another that essentially cleared a point. "Do not understand it, will never understand it."

Holgorsen was questioned once about the penalties during a brief post-game press conference. He talked about it twice. And each time, he was perplexed.

"Just a shame," he says without advice. When asked more, he continued, "Obviously, I have to be careful what I say, but I do not understand in a game like this how you remove them from the board. I do not understand. I do not understand it, I do not understand it and I will never understand it. "

The controversial penalties

The first of two calls that erased a touchdown from West Virginia was less controversial. It was an offensive pass interference flag that brought a touchdown early in the second quarter by Gary Jennings Jr. It cost the Mountaineers seven points – they eventually knocked the ball over – but it was less decisive than the last two penalties.

The second penalty – the one that worried most West Vancouver fans on Saturday morning – came early in the fourth quarter as teams traded touchdowns. The Mountaineers took the ball three times and in the first game of their training, Kennedy McKoy crossed the line on the right. He almost scored. Instead, he created a first goal and a goal among the five …

Until the referees bring the ball back to about 50 meters for T.J. The extended block of Simmons on a defensive back of Oklahoma:

West Virginia was hit with a personal foul because Simmons went on to block while he and the defender were out of bounds. The ball came back 15 yards from the foul – all the way down the court. It was actually a penalty of 50 yards.

And West Virginia fans were livid, as it is a penalty that is rarely called. But that does not mean that the referees were incorrect to call it.

What does the rulebook say?

Article 7.c of the NCAA Rules explicitly clarifies the decision. Under the heading "Late Strike, Action Beyond the Limits", we read (underline):

Late strike, action out of bounds

ARTICLE 7. a. There must be no fall, fall or projection of the body
on an opponent after the ball is dead (R.R. 9-1-7-I).

b. No opponent shall attack or block the runner when he is clearly out of reach.
bind him or throw him to the ground after the ball is dead.

c. It is illegal for a player to be clearly out of bounds when he initiates a blockage against an opponent out of bounds. The point of the fault is where the blocker crosses the touchline when leaving the field.

Are we going to repeat, just in case there is confusion? "It's illegal for any player to be clearly out of bounds" – what was Simmons – "when he initiates a blockage against an opponent who is out of bounds" – what's wrong? 39, was the defender of Oklahoma.

<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "The word" initiate "can create a bit of confusion. If a player start blocking within limits, can it continue through blocking out of bounds? But the last sentence, the stipulation on "where the blocker crosses the sideline", suggests a correct interpretation. This seems to have been the right choice, even if it seems to be stupid at the moment. "Data-reactid =" 48 "> The word" initiate "could be a little confusing, if a player start blocking within limits, can it continue through blocking out of bounds? But the last sentence, the stipulation on "where the blocker crosses the sideline", suggests a correct interpretation. So, that seems to have been the right call, even though it seemed ridiculous.

The penalty was incredibly expensive

Two games later, the real decisive game has arrived. A few minutes after the West Virginia ball found itself just meters from Oklahoma's goal zone, Oklahoma found it in the West Virginia balloon:

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