I would argue that arms out slightly isn't a waving signal, especially away from the ball. Refs saw a chance and took it. JMO.
If arms out and static is an invalid signal 95% of the touchbacks should be the receiving team getting the ball at the 2 or 3 yard line. Again, the arms out thing is to make it clear they don't possess the ball, its not a fair catch signal of any kind. It's just that the ball is dead when it hits the endzone.
Saban. It's all Saban. When he doesn't have a ridiculous advantage in talent he leans on officials to cripple you. That's what happened tonight. [uck fay] him. He's a [uck fay]ing coward and fraud.
I appreciate the class, I guess. But I would’ve given my left testicle for him to just cut a promo on them. He makes a shit ton of money. Hell, every business in Knoxville would probably contribute to the fine.
Well they usually aren’t catching it after doing that. Honestly I don’t think that play would’ve made a difference anyway. Only the Baron missed hold.
We basically mailed in that drive. If our offense can put together some yards up 20-14, it's a different game. Maybe they don't. They've struggled to respond to negative plays on the road in the past. But being inside our own five took the chance away.
I don't appreciate the class, tell them to suck the barbed [ock cay] of Satan like the worthless pieces of shit they are.
But its not a touch back until the ball touches a blade of grass in the endzone. The return man could dry hump the pylon instead and get the same result.
Said it in the chat, but I’ll say it again. This game was worse than it looked, and scoring 0 points in the 2nd half wasn’t all that outlandish after our first half. We somehow scored 2 offensive touchdowns on plays that normally fail 9 out of 10 times: 1. That catch by Squirrel was absolutely insane. Just an amazing, amazing catch. You can’t count on that once a game, let alone multiple times. Great play, but not something that can be replicated. 2. The second TD was a Joe Milton throw, under pressure, off his back foot, and LOBBED, for [uck fay] sake. I’m sorry, but I’ve watched enough Joe Milton to know how lucky we were to score that TD. The offense (and play caller) have some soul searching to do. The 2 redzone field goal possessions are inexcusable.
Not sure that’s been verified but dangerous to run with. Could be an Auburn fan for all we know if that’s even him.
I will say - Defense looked great, all things considered. We gave them the ball on our side of the 50 TWICE, and they only gave up 7 points. That’s very solid. And don’t forget the scoop and score TD. They just weren’t set up for success all afternoon, and they played well despite it.
I don’t know where to put the blame on offense aside from the playcalling, tbh. Milton played about as well as we can expect, I think. We ran the ball well for a big chunk of the game. Line didn’t stand out for anything bad aside for a few penalties, which is baked into the cake on the road. Receivers made some HUGE catches and limited drops for the most part. What else is there? It’s gotta be the playcalling, right?
I don't think the invalid signal on a touchback is covered in the rulebook. The rules say that the ball is spotted where it is caught after an invalid signal, that the ball is placed on the 25 after a catch after an invalid signal inside the 25 on a kickoff, and that a 5 yard delay of game penalty is assessed for advancing more than 2 steps after an invalid signal. Based on that, I could see putting it at the 25 and assessing the 5 yard penalty. I don't think they even called a penalty? Which there clearly was one according to the rules. Basically, they made something up. https://www.ncaapublications.com/p-4669-2023-ncaa-football-rules-book.aspx
