Why do guys drop the ball right on the goal line?

[jkjsooner]

This is something I'll never understand. Guys seem like they're pushing the limit on how close to the goal line they can drop the ball.

It almost seems to me that some guys just can't control their emotions in situations like this. How hard is it to run several yards into the endzone before dropping the ball?

It would seem to me that nobody would want to risk being that guy who dropped the ball too early turning what might be their best moment in college football into their worst.


I'd be the world's worst coach as there is no way I could put up with that type of behavior. I think I would go ballistic.

[BoulderSooner79]

One word - showboating. (or is that 2 words?)

I was worried Wilson may have dropped it too soon watching it live, then they decided to review and I thought ah-oh. He didn't drop it early, but I think it was closer than it looked on replay since there was no angle directly down the goal line. His right foot was in the endzone, but his left arm w/ the ball was swung back behind his body when he let it go. I guess it's okay to showboat when you do it right.

[KantoSooner]

Males don't develop brains until about the age of 25.

[Aries]

I suspect if you asked Wilson, he would say he was right there, saw the goal line, and knew he had already crossed it. Just a guess.

[BoulderSooner79]

Males don't develop brains until about the age of 25.

Dang, I was busy that year - do I get another chance?

[SouthFortySooner]

Wilson said, "I saw the red and knew I was in so I just dropped it, but, NEXT TIME I will do like Coach Stoops told me and carry it ALL THE WAY TO THE SIDELINE".

[BoulderSooner79]

I remember reading an article about the real life "top gun" fighter pilots. Those guys are big time cocky and one of the things they do is try to lift the landing gear on take off at the exact split second that is possible. You guessed it, one pilot pulled them up a split second early and a little wind burst put the jet back down on it's belly on the aircraft carrier.

I think the ball dropping thing is the football equivalent.

[dwarthog]

I suspect if you asked Wilson, he would say he was right there, saw the goal line, and knew he had already crossed it. Just a guess.

He was on the post game recap show and said exactly that.

Bunch of nervous nellies with too little to angst over it would appear.

[BoulderSooner79]

He was on the post game recap show and said exactly that.

Bunch of nervous nellies with too little to angst over it would appear.

And you bought this? What do you think he would say - "I was trying to time it perfectly to display my athletic prowess" ?

[KantoSooner]

Dang, I was busy that year - do I get another chance?

Thankfully, yes, unless stupidity kills you first. Through a dim haze, I figure I started to develop common sense about age 31or 32.

[jkjsooner]

He was on the post game recap show and said exactly that.

Bunch of nervous nellies with too little to angst over it would appear.

Well, we've seen guys who knew they were in the endzone but as it turns out didn't know the ball wasn't.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IT2HgywcnQU

I wondered what would have happened if they ruled he dropped it too soon. Nobody jumped on it. The above video answers it. It would have been our ball so I guess it wouldn't have been as terrible as I guessed but you never know if someone else isn't going to jump on it.


One other thing I didn't like is that that fat offensive lineman almost caught Wilson. C'mon, dude, you don't want to be a Leon Lett.

[Speck]

Well, we've seen guys who knew they were in the endzone but as it turns out didn't know the ball wasn't.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IT2HgywcnQU

I wondered what would have happened if they ruled he dropped it too soon. Nobody jumped on it. The above video answers it. It would have been our ball so I guess it wouldn't have been as terrible as I guessed but you never know if someone else isn't going to jump on it.


One other thing I didn't like is that that fat offensive lineman almost caught Wilson. C'mon, dude, you don't want to be a Leon Lett.

That happened at Tech last year and they put the ball on the one if I remember correctly.

[badger]

Players used to do all sorts of things with the ball in the endzone... then NCAA outlawed everything fun, so about all you can do is drop it a la Julian Wilson, or hand it to the ref. Thanks a lot "The U." We have U to thank for the no fun rules in college now

[jkjsooner]

Here's another two from Desean Jackson. I remember watching the Army AA game that year and thought, "What a bonehead." I had no idea he did it again later.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pH1H13nl01M

[jkjsooner]

That happened at Tech last year and they put the ball on the one if I remember correctly.

That was the video I linked to.

[jkjsooner]

Players used to do all sorts of things with the ball in the endzone... then NCAA outlawed everything fun, so about all you can do is drop it a la Julian Wilson, or hand it to the ref. Thanks a lot "The U." We have U to thank for the no fun rules in college now

They used to take their helmets off a lot too. I remember Cale Gundy doing it the one year he beat Texas.

Check 9:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aGGZkIlk9k

Lot of what Miami did was ridiculous but I sort of wish guys could still take their helmets off as long as there isn't clear taunting.

[BoulderSooner79]

It depends on what happened to the ball afterward. If it trickles through the endzone, it's a touchback and Tenn. ball. If everyone ignores it and the whistle blows, it would be OU ball at the 1.

I love this quote attributed to Wilson at today's presser:

Wilson: “Next time I’m going to run out of the back of the end zone and just take the ball home with me."

Hope he gets lots of "next times" !

[dwarthog]

And you bought this? What do you think he would say - "I was trying to time it perfectly to display my athletic prowess" ?

Well, with Stoops sitting right there when he said that, you may be correct!

Moot point though, since he was over the line when he dropped the ball.

[BoulderSooner79]

Players used to do all sorts of things with the ball in the endzone... then NCAA outlawed everything fun, so about all you can do is drop it a la Julian Wilson, or hand it to the ref. Thanks a lot "The U." We have U to thank for the no fun rules in college now

Agree with that. It's a game fueled by emotion and as a fan, I want to see that emotion as long as it's not taunting. What "the U" did was pure taunting and they have ruined it for everyone else.

[BoulderSooner79]

Well, with Stoops sitting right there when he said that, you may be correct!

Moot point though, since he was over the line when he dropped the ball.

Actually, much better than a moot point. I would wager that no OU player will cut it close enough to warrant a replay for the rest of the season!