Blue and Gold Illustrated

Nov. 10, 2014

Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football

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A devastated Kelly bit his tongue relatively well and lamented how his team just "needed to make one more play." The following day, after reviewing the tape, Kelly was not nearly as reti‑ cent. "It's pretty clear what happened on the play: Florida State blew the cov‑ erage and they got rewarded for it," Kelly said. "It's unfortunate." ACC supervisor of officials Doug Rhoads made the following call on the infraction: "Offensive players, on pass‑ ing plays, are restricted from going downfield and blocking anytime from the snap. If the ball is first touched be‑ hind the line of scrimmage, then that would be legal, and it's OK, but if the ball is touched beyond the line, then it's offensive pass interference. "Officials always have to exercise great judgment in calling a foul, and offensive pass interference, or pick plays, as they're sometimes referred to, are no different than other difficult judgments. "The key element is that the official must assess on the play if there is suf‑ ficient restriction for it to be a foul, and he has to differentiate between incidental contact and significant con‑ tact, or significant restriction, before he calls that foul." What Rhoads did acknowledge was that the officiating crew should have penalized Florida State safety P.J. Wil‑ liams for unsportsmanlike conduct because of removing his helmet at the end of the play. Combined with the offensive pass interference call, the dead ball infraction should have and would have given Notre Dame a first‑ and‑goal at the 9‑yard line with 13 seconds left, time enough for two or three plays. ABC color analyst Kirk Herbstreit, who stated that the offensive pass inter‑ ference was "the right call" during and after the game, later in the month noted that Notre Dame should still be in the College Football Playoff mix because its lone loss was "in a game that was kind of taken away from them late." A week later, in an almost exact rep‑ lica of Notre Dame's play, Utah tal‑ lied the game‑winner on a one‑yard pass from quarterback Travis Wilson to Kaelin Clay with eight seconds left in a 24‑21 victory versus USC. On Notre Dame's play, it aligned in a three‑man bunch formation to Golson's right. Prosise was nearest to Golson, Fuller to Prosise's right and Robinson between and behind them in a triangular formation. At the snap, Prosise was immedi‑ ately locked in by Florida State free safety Jalen Ramsey, and Prosise pro‑ ceeded forward. "C.J.'s job is to get into the end zone, turn around and be a big target," Kelly said. "He was immediately grabbed at the line of scrimmage. He's trying to get depth into the line of scrimmage to the end zone so Corey can clear [behind him]. "… You've got two guys that are trying to fight for space. We saw it as such. [Prosise is] supposed to find space, sit down and be a target. It's a pretty common play in NCAA football where you're setting a point, the guy turns around, and the ball is thrown. The ball was thrown quickly. "C.J. didn't even have a chance to

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