Former NFL ref breaks down PSU's fake punt vs. Auburn
In Saturday night’s game between Penn State and Auburn, a nuanced issue with a kicking formation prompted widespread criticism from the Nittany Lions faithful.
Former NFL referee Terry McAulay, who currently serves as a rules expert for Sunday Night Football and Notre Dame home games on NBC, broke down the controversial call on Twitter on Wednesday.
To set the scene, Penn State head coach James Franklin opted to go for the first down on 4th and 1, a call which used PJ Mustipher to try to sneak the ball across the first down line. Mustipher was initially stopped short of the line to gain, but he was eventually pushed over the line and gained enough for the first down prior to the whistle being blown.
The officials said he came up short, and Auburn took over on downs with 2:57 to play in the third quarter. The Tigers turned the drive into three points with a 43-yard field goal.
McAulay took issue with the pre-snap formation; he argues an Auburn player is illegally covering the center.
“A [defensive] player must be completely outside the frame of the snapper when he is within 1 yard of the line and the offense is in a scrimmage kick formation,” McAulay said.
Two keys to the formation
Two things are required for a scrimmage kick formation: a player must be lined up 10+ yards from the line of scrimmage and it must be obvious a kick will be made. The latter requirement is very vague.
McAulay argues that the second requirement is not met – it is not certain the ball will be kicked – therefore the center can be covered. He adds that a “differing opinion would not be unreasonable.” Further, the Auburn player “covering” the center may not actually be within a yard of the snapper either. It is unclear.
Penn State head coach James Franklin took issue with the same thing.
“Looking at that play and in studying that play and interpreting that play, I don’t think you can cover the center on those plays,” Franklin said. “So obviously without somebody over the center, I think we would have been in a much more positive situation there.”
McAulay added he did not believe Mustipher’s forward progress was stopped short, even though it may have appeared that way for a moment. His final conclusion is that the runner was short of the first down, even though the way at which they arrived at that conclusion was wrong.
“And that spot was short,” McAulay tweeted. “Replay could *not* change *where* his progress was stopped. They could only change the spot of the ball *when* the officials ruled it was stopped. And here that was clearly, albeit incorrectly, short.”
Penn State ultimately won the game 28-20 to improve to 3-0 on the season. They face Villanova this weekend at noon ET on the Big Ten Network.