That was ruled a touchdown on the field and overruled in Birmingham upon review.
For the life of me, I can think of only one reason for that: Ole Miss is banned from the postseason and Vandy still has a shot at bowl eligibility. Normally I don’t indulge in that kind of thinking, but how was that not a catch?
Anybody see it differently?
Get The Picture 
I thought is was incomplete live because it bobbles in the receivers hand at the end. A catch requires ball security throughout OR a football move after possession. You can see it moving on his one hand right at the end.
Also I thought it was an interception because the Vandy kid secures it and I don’t see where it hits the turf. Unless they decided the Vandy kid was out of bounds or it wasn’t indisputable that he wasn’t out of bounds since that’s the standard.
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When the Vandy player possesses the ball his legs are out of bounds–his hip is crossing the line. You can freeze-frame that to see it.
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I had the same thoughts. It is either and interception or incomplete because the Vandy defender was out of bounds. I never was the Ole Miss receiver secure the ball.
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3 second rule?? I guess they still have it, only thing I can think of….but most certainly looked to be a TD to me.
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I think incomplete was the correct call… The Ole MIss player loses the ball out of his hand as he’s rolling, and the Vandy player was partly out of bounds or it would have been an INT. But I think the receiver losing control right before the Vandy player takes it is the key.
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Apparently, the review decided the reception “did not survive the ground”, a qualifying factor to be a catch.
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Agreed seems cut and dry to me
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If it had been an Alabama receiver i5 would be ruled a completion and awarded two touchdowns.
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+1
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I don’t know, how damn hard is it to tuck that thing away? I mean I know you want to break your fall and all, but man, keep that think tucked away in your gut.
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Looks like a catch to me.
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Looked like a catch live. Then you slow it down, start thinking about it, and convince yourself it’s not a catch. My wife said Ole Miss got screwed. I didn’t care either way, even though I was watching.
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When he clutched the ball to his hip in the end zone why wasn’t that an immediate dead ball touchdown?
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Was it an interception for Sanders against Bama when he had possession against his thigh? As with this one, you have to maintain control according to the new interpretation of end zone “catches” I recall when you only had to have possession for an instant to be a catch (TN/FU game was a great example of this around 2001 as I recall). Don’t like the new rule, a runner can extend the ball at the goal line to barely break the plane of the end zone and then have it slapped out of his grasp and it is considered a TD, not a fumble. Seems inconsistent to me but agree with others, ruling was correct.
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It is a mistake to use a call involving an Alabama game as a benchmark for accurate officiating.
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But you have to have possession of the ball before it can be a TD. The runner already has the ball. The receiver cannot score until the ball is possessed, i.e., a legal catch.
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Fair point. I still don’t like the control through the ground aspect of the interpretation.
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The ‘Break the plane of the endzone” rule is odd. If the ball carrier holds the ball over the out of bounds stripe it’s not out of bounds. The runner should have to carry the ball into the endzone, or at least still have it stretched out into the endzone when he is ruled down.
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Because it’s not enough anymore to have possession for a moment. You have to complete the catch through the ground OR make a “football move” with control.
Here the ball bobbles in his left hand and then it is taken away. He didn’t complete the catch. You can clearly see the ball move in his hand as he is hitting the ground. No catch.
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Right– it’s not actually possession at all until it’s a legal catch.
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He did not control the ball all the way down.
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SEC Refs are really starting to get it rolling in time to screw someone in the SECCG. Meanwhile in his Mother’s Basement, Penn Wagers applies lipstick and turns up the volume on ELO’s “Telephone Line.”
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To me it was a TD. He caught it and once his rear end hit the turf with the ball in his possession the play was dead.
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Clearly looks incomplete to me. He didn’t control the ball. If anything it’s an interception but the defender was rolling out of bounds. Good call by the refs.
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Incomplete. Pretty clear.
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Yes he didn’t take the ball through his contact with the ground!
That’s the rule!
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Frankly, I don’t care that it was controversial. I’ve seen Vanderbilt get screwed over against Florida and Tennessee all too often. I figure it’s about time that Vandy has one go in their favor, and given that it’s Ole Miss, I’m especially cool with it.
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It was every bit as much of a TD as Godwin’s catch at ND which I thought was so clear that they reversed the live call. BS reversal. OTOH, the officials set the whole thing up with the ridiculous unsportsmanlike call against the Vandy receiver in their possession. Vandy’s bowl eligibility ($$$) might have been a factor, but maybe they just thought that unsportsmanlike call was so BS they would reverse the TD catch. Steve Shaw giveth; Steve Shaw taketh away. 🙂
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If officials are in the business of giving “make up calls”, then I’ll be looking for the ones due Georgia against Bama.
(but I won’t hold my breath).
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No, Godwin caught the ball as he was falling and never let it go after hitting the ground.
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If you want to seen blatant homerism look at the incredibly obvious block in the back at the 4.16 mark on a long UAT catch and run in the UAT/Citadel game.
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By the way, did you see Bama get called for holding in the first half. I couldn’t believe. Boy is that official gionna get a talking to!
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I guess they felt so bad about that call they let them get away with the block in the back.
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The ? for next weeks UTK/VANDY game is who would the SEC rather see go bowling. My bet is on the vols. Then again the vols are so bad they may lose anyway.
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That call will come back to haunt the SEC and Vandy.
But how does a team like Ole Miss put up that much offense and plays and end up losing in OT.
Go back and watch the Dores plays on their OT offensive possession and how the Ole Miss LB miss played the gap on a rush, and the poor offensive call by Ole Miss on 4th down.
Best to do like Dawgs in Rose Bowl, quicken your offensive plays and do not allow the defense to get set or force a use of TO.
Caught the ball with two hands, brought the ball into his hands, and came down with it, and his body hits the ground… no further movement required.
Dare say if that had happened to Godwin every Dawg fan would be bitching like hell now.
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