The Alabama Crimson Tide did not show up with anything close to their A-game on Saturday night in Norman, Oklahoma to take on the Sooners in the first SEC matchup between the two storied programs, but the team also became the victim of what was potentially the worst call in the history of the sport.
Trailing 24-3 at the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Tide faced a fourth down from the 36 yard line when Jalen Milroe chucked a prayer to freshman sensation Ryan Williams, who came down with the ball in the corner of the corner of the end zone for what looked like for a moment like one of his best plays of the season and pulled the Tide within two scores with plenty of time left.
As Williams came down with the ball however, the side judge still standing 35 yards behind the play threw a flag which the head referee tried to explain as an illegal touching on Williams despite the fact that Williams never went out of bounds, making an illegal touching penalty impossible:
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The referee crew, who was the same crew as the infamous Georgia Texas officiating disaster earlier this season in which a flimsy pass interference call that was not reviewable was reversed after fans threw objects on the field, tried to explain that Williams was ‘covered up’ at the line of scrimmage, something that eligible receivers are not able to do.
According to the rule book, a receiver who is on the line of scrimmage on the inside of a receiver also on the line of scrimmage is not eligible to catch a pass, but as the still frame shows, Williams was not close to what could be considered covered up:
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The flag not being thrown until Williams made the catch makes sense due to the fact that it was only became a ‘flag’ once Williams touched the ball because he was seen as ineligible by the referee crew, which is headed up by Matt Loeffler.
Alabama went on to lose the game 24-3. While the call limited the outcome, as we’ve seen from high-octane, fourth-quarter performances from the Tide, it did not radically alter it. The call will be heavily scrutinized and the officiating crew will be held accountable by the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and other entities.
Michael Brauner is a Senior Sports Analyst and Contributing Writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @MBraunerWNSP and hear him every weekday morning from 6 to 9 a.m. on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5, available free online.
