The key touchdown in Memphis's two-point victory over Mississippi State on Saturday might not have been the tremendous heads-up play that it was hailed in the moment, but rather a complete officiating failure.
At least one, and probably two, rules foulups occurred on Calvin Austin III's stealth 94-yard punt return that gave Memphis an 11-point lead with 5:36 remaining in the fourth quarter. The Tigers held on to win 31-29.
The clear miss was that Austin was one of two Tigers on the field wearing No. 4. That's against NCAA rules and the touchdown should have been called back.
Memphis had two players wearing #4 on the field at the same time during the controversial punt return TD, a miss by the refs. pic.twitter.com/guWRLtv2V4
— NCAAF Nation (@NCAAFNation247) September 18, 2021
Memphis's official roster lists Austin and defensive lineman Maurice White as No. 4s. White lined up as a rusher on the punt return team.
The second failure was the visible one, but there was also a sliver of gray area. Austin picked up the ball after two Mississippi State players had touched it near the goal line. By rule, the Bulldogs were guilty of illegal touching, but the ball stayed live until it stopped moving.
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And then the ball came to rest just before Austin swooped in, grabbed it and took off.
One of the best scoop & scores you’ll ever see 🤯@MemphisFB | @CalvinAustinIII
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) September 18, 2021
🎥 @American_FB pic.twitter.com/NvoVA4bFZh
The nearest official (an SEC officiating crew worked the game) had just thrown his beanbag to mark the downing of the ball and was in the midst of signaling the end of the play when Austin made his move. The surprised official backed off.
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NCAA Rule 4's wording on when a ball is declared dead seems to allow for wiggle room.
The official phrasing in the rule book: A ball becomes dead on kicks when it comes to rest and "no player attempts to secure it." So it's subjective. And by definition, if a player is trying to pick it up, it's not a dead ball. pic.twitter.com/wQwxWeDhjP
— Rodger Sherman (@rodger) September 18, 2021
The official wording is "when a free kick, scrimmage kick or any other loose ball comes to rest and no player attempts to secure it." There's no time limit listed for when a player can attempt to secure a ball at rest. Austin beat that clock to the officials' satisfaction.
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But the penalty for two No. 4s should have forced the Tigers to take possession inside their 10, or given Mississippi State 5 yards and a fourth-and-1 near midfield. And then none of the hair-splitting about when the ball stopped moving would have been necessary.
Mississippi State coach Mike Leach agreed with the call on the field and said he didn't see anyone signal the play dead. But again, the replay showed the nearest official beginning to signal before Austin jumped in.
Mike Leach: The ball’s live. We’ve got to pick it up and hand it to the ref.
— Theo DeRosa (@Theo_DeRosa) September 19, 2021
Said he didn’t see one ref call the play dead* and said they got no explanation
In fact, Leach was more upset that officials seemed to blow a call on the Bulldogs' ensuing onside kick after they cut the Tigers' lead to 31-29.
"Don’t even get me started. I’ll have to decide whether I want to spend some money before I get into that too much, Leach was quoted as saying.