Here's another one I was not aware of . . . illegal stemming

[Jacie]

For those of us who admit to watching the New Orleans Bowl (actually, if you didn’t, you missed an exciting and entertaining game), the finish was a little bizarre, what with the call of “illegal stemming,” a penalty I never had heard of before. Louisiana-Lafayette was lined up to attempt a 55-yard field goal on the final play of the game when flags flew. San Diego State was called for “illegal stemming,” which in simple terms (but, hey, when is anything related to the NCAA rules book ever simple?) means a defender tried to induce a false start by feinting toward the line of scrimmage. After the 5-yard penalty, ULL’s Brett Baer connected on a 50-yarder to win the game 32-30. Because of the way the ball was hooking at the end, it seems doubtful the kick would’ve been good from 55 yards.


Defensive players often rush the line before the snap, attempting to time the rush to coincide with it. So how did the officials in this game determine the mindset of the player, that he was trying to induce a false start as opposed to getting the jump on the offensive line so he could block the kick?

I never heard of this penalty nor remember seeing one called in a game.

[cvsooner]

One of the more entertaining bowl games I've seen, by the way, along with the second half of the Potato Bowl.

[Pricetag]

I've heard commentators postulate many a time that the defense could be penalized for causing a jump, but you don't see it called often. In that situation, the refs were probably looking for it.

[BoulderSooner79]

I've never heard of that one either. You certainly see a call if the defender actually causes a false start, but not if the offense remains still. Lately, I've seen more and more OL guys moving on purpose if the defender in front of them lurches in order to get the flag.

[badger]

What might have happened was a lot of jawing in addition to a lot of fake movements. USC tried to do something similar against Nebrasky during Bill Callahan's last year... and the game wasn't even on the line, then.

[SoonerTerry]

It happened to OU this year, I think it was Iowa St. Goal line O was in, D was twitchin and jumping like M.J Fox. Stoops blew up but it did no good.

[OULenexaman]

It's a BS call and it takes a chicken **** ref to call it. JMO...

[badger]

It's a BS call and it takes a chicken **** ref to call it. JMO...

After the way last bowl season went with chicken **** reffing, are you really surprised that it already happen on day one of bowlin' :D

:mad: it better not happen to us.

but till then, LOL

[SoonerMom2]

I thought the New Orleans and Potato Bowls were really fun games to watch. The fact Ohio U won their first bowl win ever shows that Solich was a great hire for them. The ragin cajuns sold 40,000 tickets -- thought it was a really good game.

[badger]

I thought it was funny that the winner got a big bowl of potatoes :)

We were in a restaurant when they showed it and I was one of the few that could see the potato TV. So it was like this:

Me: Oh my... did you just see what the winner of that bowl gets?
Others:???
Me: You know how the orange bowl presents the winner a bowl of oranges?
Others: Yeah....
Me: They're getting a bowl of potatoes.

[SoonerLaw09]

I'm not sure if it was the movement toward the line by the D, or them yelling out fake signals to try to mess up the long snapper. I kinda think it was the latter.

[Lott's Bandana]

It happened to OU this year, I think it was Iowa St. Goal line O was in, D was twitchin and jumping like M.J Fox. Stoops blew up but it did no good.


He lost his mind in Tallahassee when the Nole Dback did exactly that.

[VA Sooner]

Tough call.

Although... I would have enjoyed the game more if I didn't have vCash on the Aztecs. Damn.

[badger]

Tough call.

Although... I would have enjoyed the game more if I didn't have vCash on the Aztecs. Damn.

I lost a lot of vCash when the Packers lost their first game of the season yesterday :(

[BoulderSooner79]

I lost a lot of vCash when the Packers lost their first game of the season yesterday :(

Darn you cheeseheads, darn you to heck. I thought you guys would finally silence those annoying '72 dolphins.

[8timechamps]

Never heard that call referred to as "stemming". I've seen it called in the past, but it's not a common call. At the high school level, that call is almost exclusively made if a defensive player is verbally trying to cause a false start. 99% of the time, the call is "neutral zone infraction" or offside (if it's on the defense).

[badger]

Darn you cheeseheads, darn you to heck. I thought you guys would finally silence those annoying '72 dolphins.

The fins fans need something to cling to. They have utterly sucked this year and they won't even have Luck to show for it afterwards.

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

It's a BS call and it takes a chicken **** ref to call it. JMO...

Typically the only time that it gets called is when the defender is yelling a snap count and moves. So for us it would be "Go!" and then runs forward.