Here’s the thing, if he was pushed out then he can come back in to the field of play; if not, he can come back into the field of play but can’t be the first one to touch the ball.
The initial ruling was that it was a catch by the Ole Miss receiver on the five yard line or so (Ole Miss was down by three with little time left on the clock). Regardless of who was right and who was wrong, reviewing the video shows that every aspect of this play was disputable, yet the play was overturned due to alleged “irrefutable” video evidence.
As it turns out, the game had no impact on the big picture in college football because both teams went on to an embarrassingly pathetic season, but a win here could have given Ole Miss a confidence boost that they have so desperately needed since Eli Manning graduated.
8. UConn vs. Louisville – October 19, 2007
UConn was trailing Louisville in the third quarter of this game when the Cardinals were setting up for a routine punt. The snap went back, the ball flew up high off the punter’s foot, and Larry Taylor was the lone setback for the Huskies.
As the ball approached Taylor, he put his hand up to signal for a fair catch, but to the amazement of the Louisville special teams, Taylor took off with the ball. He naturally had plenty of room since Louisville saw the signal and defenders peeled off to head for the sideline. Instead, Taylor ran 74 yards for a touchdown.
As it turned out, the officials said that since Taylor did not wave his hand in a full back and forth motion, the signal was invalid. What they should have known was that if a fair catch signal is ruled invalid, the ball becomes dead and the receiving team forfeits the right to advance the ball on that play.
UConn went on the win the game 21-17, thanks to the punt return that should have been nullified.
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