NCAA Football Officials Issue New Rule Interpretation

The national coordinator of college football officials announced a significant rule interpretation on Wednesday, aimed at closing the loophole that Oregon utilized during their narrow victory over Ohio State. The new guideline allows the offensive team to choose to reset the game clock if the defense commits a substitution foul by having 12 or more players on the field in the last two minutes of either half.

Last Saturday, Oregon appeared to purposefully deploy 12 players on what turned out to be the second-to-last play of their thrilling 32-31 win against the Buckeyes. Although the Ducks were penalized for this infraction on the subsequent incomplete pass, the four seconds that ticked off the clock proved to be more advantageous for Oregon than the five-yard penalty was detrimental to Ohio State. The Buckeyes found themselves still out of field goal range, and despite running one final play, they ultimately ran out of time, snapping the ball with just six seconds left on the clock.

Steve Shaw, the coordinator of officials and NCAA secretary rules editor, stated, “Football is a very dynamic game. Occasionally, there are specific situations where committing a penalty can give a team an advantage. A guiding principle of the NCAA Football Rules Committee is that there should be no benefit when a team commits a penalty. This in-season interpretation aims to eliminate any potential clock advantage that might arise from committing a substitution foul and to ensure that any violation by the defense does not result in an unfair gain.”

Utilizing an existing rule designed to penalize teams for committing “a blatant and obvious unfair act intended to take time off the clock,” the rules committee has endorsed a new interpretation regarding end-game substitution violations. The updated guidelines specify that:

• “After the Two-Minute Timeout in either half, if the defense commits a substitution foul and has 12 or more players on the field who participate in a down, officials will penalize the defense for the foul. At the option of the offended team, the game clock will be reset back to the time displayed at the snap.”
• “The game clock will then restart on the next snap. However, if the 12th defender was attempting to exit the field but was still present at the snap and had no impact on the play, then the normal substitution penalty will be enforced without any clock adjustment.”

This means that while the five-yard penalty will still be enforced regardless, the decision to reset the game clock will rest with the offensive team. Shaw explained that this approach allows for the possibility that, in certain late-game scenarios, the offense may decide that keeping time on the clock is more beneficial.

The “blatant and obvious unfair act” rule (9-2-3 II) was initially established to deter defensive teams from intentionally trying to draw holding or pass interference penalties in the waning moments of a game, a tactic intended to waste time while protecting a lead. In such cases where a foul is deemed intentional, it is escalated to a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

Shaw noted that the rules committee concluded that it would be challenging for officials to determine whether a team intentionally employed 12 or more defensive players. Thus, they decided that since resetting the clock is a more critical factor, it was unnecessary to elevate the illegal substitution foul to an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

“It’s hard to judge the intent,” Shaw told The Athletic.

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning addressed the situation on Monday, stopping just short of admitting that the Ducks had intentionally utilized a 12th defender on the pivotal play against Ohio State. “We dedicate a significant amount of time to preparing for various situations,” Lanning remarked to reporters, a hint of a smirk on his face. “While there are scenarios that don’t frequently occur in college football, this is one we specifically worked on. So, you can see the results.”

In the final moments, Ohio State faced a daunting third-and-25 from the Oregon 43-yard line with only 10 seconds remaining in the game and the Ducks leading by a single point. Oregon called a timeout but seemed to struggle in getting their defensive personnel organized back on the field. The ensuing play featured the Ducks with 12 players on the field and resulted in an incomplete pass from Will Howard to a well-covered receiver. The illegal substitution penalty gave Ohio State the ball at the Oregon 38, but they still needed significant yardage to be in a reasonable position to attempt a field goal, with kicker Jayden Fielding holding a career-long of 47 yards.

For Oregon, there was no downside to the strategy of fielding 12 players. They effectively made it more challenging for Ohio State to gain the necessary yardage while willingly sacrificing five yards to run down precious seconds on the clock. Had Ohio State managed to make a significant gain against the 12-man defense, they could have opted to decline the penalty and taken the result of the play instead.

Ohio State did run one final play, but Howard’s 12-yard scramble ultimately sealed the game. Lanning’s unconventional strategy sparked mixed reactions among other coaches. Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin, whose team has faced scrutiny for allegedly faking injuries to disrupt opposing offenses, commented, “I find all this national talk about someone faking an injury interesting. While I agree that it shouldn’t be done, it’s fascinating how everyone is praising Oregon for intentionally breaking the rules to have more players on the field, yet many are outraged when someone appears to be injured. It’s an intriguing contrast.”

Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer, who faced Lanning three times while at Washington, praised his former Pac-12 rival, stating, “Hats off to coach Lanning for creatively finding a way for his team to win.” Georgia coach Kirby Smart, who worked with Lanning as an assistant for three years before Lanning took the reins at Oregon, sidestepped a question about whether his Bulldogs had considered employing a similar strategy. “We strive to be as meticulous as possible in our preparation,” Smart said, “but I’d prefer not to comment on that.”

— The Athletic’s Seth Emerson contributed reporting.

(Photo: Ali Gradischer / Getty Images)