So why isn't the onside kick recovery reviewable?

[tulsaoilerfan]

I have read several times today that, by rule, the video officials could not look at the recovery of the onside kick and render a decision on that; why? Anyone?:pop:

[bri]

Without looking it up, my guess would be because they had already blown the play dead when they thought the ball was still in the pile, possessed by Oregon.

You know, because they're f*ckin' IDIOTS. :D

[The Maestro]

Yeah, go back and watch the Umpire. He comes running up to the pile, looks around for a bit, OBVIOUSLY doesn't see a football since Allan Patrick is hiding it like OJ with a bloody glove...and then the umpire gives one last lookover and just decides to signal first down for Oregon.

I wonder what made him decide it was Oregon ball? I think the decision to try the kick near the Oregon sideline was Belloti's best decision of the day. They all came up screaming, players off the sidelines screaming and the coaches screaming like it was obvious they had the ball.

Best acting job in Eugene since they filmed Animal House there.

[opksooner]

I have read several times today that, by rule, the video officials could not look at the recovery of the onside kick and render a decision on that; why? Anyone?:pop:

1. Whether or not the ball was touched before it had gone ten yards = reviewable.

2. Recovery and possession = referee's judgement. Not reviewable.

[85Sooner]

Because they believe that the job of determining who is actually holding the football is a pretty easy task. evidently not. Keep in mind this is the left coast, where what you see is not necessarily so according to them.

[TopDawg]

Like several have said, change of possession is not reviewable if the play has been blown dead.

The rule makes sense on normal plays because if the offense is running with the ball and fumbles and the official blows the play dead before the defense recovers the ball, the offensive team can reasonably argue that they didn't try to recover the ball since the play was blown dead. In that case, the ball goes back to the team that last possessed it before the play was blown dead.

However, in this case the ball was never possessed by Oregon. On an offensive play it's easy to know that, at some point along the way, the offense possessed the ball. On an onside kick, such is not the case. I am of the opinion that this rule should be reexamined so that on a play like this, replay can be used to determine if anyone actually possessed the ball. If it turns out that the play was accidentally blown dead before anyone possessed the ball, it's an offsetting penalty type situation, replay the down.

Of course I'm also of the opinion that if a player walks over to an official from nowhere near the pile just seconds after the play is blown dead and if the officials have a conference to decide who recovered the ball, the idiot who thinks he saw the other team recover it should admit that he must not have seen it correctly and they give the ball to the team that actually did recover it...so what do I know?