Did SEC officials blow a call that helped Tennessee? According to some information I was provided, the answer is YES. Dumbass Lane Kiffin was attacking officials, but the officials helped his team have a chance in the final seconds thanks to a violation of the free kick rules. Watch the video here, rules explanation follows. Then chime in if you think the rules apply or don’t.


Thanks for sending the video Denny Chimes.

According to what I was told, Julio Jones was illegally touched because the ball never touched the ground before he was blocked. There are some rules provided below that explain the manner of touching, and how this could be considered one of two different fouls.
Rule 6
SECTION 1. Free Kicks,
Free Kick Formation
ARTICLE 2
g. No Team A player may block an opponent until Team A is eligible to touch a free-kicked ball [S19].

What is the penalty for this?
PENALTY—Live-ball foul. Five yards from the previous spot, or five yards from the spot where the subsequent dead ball belongs to Team B, or from the spot where the ball is placed after a touchback [S18] (A.R. 6-1-2-VII).

How does a ball become eligible for a team to block? Here is the answer?

Touching and Recovery of a Free Kick
ARTICLE 3. a. No Team A player may touch a free-kicked ball until after:
1. It touches a Team B player (Exception: Rules 6-1-4 and 6-5-1-b);
2. It breaks the plane of and remains beyond Team B’s restraining line (Exception: Rule 6-4-1) (A.R. 2-11-5-I); or
3. It touches any player, the ground, an official or anything beyond Team B’s restraining line.
Thereafter, all players of Team A become eligible to touch, recover or catch the kick.

Jones was beyond the 40 when he was blocked. The ball had not touched the ground, nor a member of Alabama’s team. How did CBS replay miss this? Attention Mr. Gary Danielson and others at CBS.

ALSO, this could be considered kick catching interference. Here is the rule

SECTION 4. Opportunity To Catch a Kick
Interference With Opportunity
ARTICLE 1. A player of the receiving team within the boundary lines attempting to catch a kick, and so located that he could have caught a free kick or a scrimmage kick that is beyond the neutral zone, must be given an unimpeded opportunity to catch the kick (A.R. 6-3-1-III, A.R. 6-4-1-V and A.R. 6-4-1-X).

a. This protection terminates when the kick touches the ground, when any player of Team B muffs a scrimmage kick beyond the neutral zone, or when any player of Team B muffs a free kick in the field of play or in the end zone (Rule 6-5-1-a) (A.R. 6-4-1-IV).

b. If interference with a potential receiver is the result of a player being blocked by an opponent, it is not a foul.

c. It is an interference foul if the kicking team contacts the potential receiver before, or simultaneous to, his first touching the ball (A.R. 6-4-1-II, III, VII and
IX). When in question, it is an interference foul.

PENALTY—For foul between the goal lines: Receiving team’s ball, first down, 15 yards beyond the spot of the foul for an interference foul [S33]. For foul behind the goal line: Award a touchback and penalize from the succeeding spot. Flagrant offenders shall be disqualified [S47].

So, what do you think? Did the officials make a mistake? Is Lane Kiffin an even bigger dumbass since he didn’t notice this?
[poll id=”35″]

19 thoughts on “SEC officials blow call; help Lane Kiffin & Vols”

  1. The kick was in the air.Julio was pushed before the ball went 10 yards.By rule it was an illegal kick.The Rotty Toppers are in to their 6th day of trying to understand dead ball fouls on blocked FG’s.I’m afraid you’ll short circuit their minds if we try to explain free kicks to them.

  2. If there is a next time to this play,Julio or another player should just call for a fair catch.

  3. I’m pretty sure the ball did touch the ground. It is hard to see in that video, but from watching it on TV, they showed it hit the ground immediately after the kick. In fact, an onside kick that is not to be kicked directly into the ground would be a pretty poor onside kick for the reasons you mentioned here.

    Either way, the facts that the SEC hasn’t said there were any mistakes in the game and that the University of Tennessee hasn’t mentioned that they received a letter from the SEC indicating missed calls is pretty indicative of the fact that Kiffin is full of it.

  4. Ummm, watch the video. I’m watching and it is clear the kick went straight up. Go frame by frame if necessary. The ball didn’t touch the ground. It was a bad kick. Which illustrates the bad special teams coaching from the Vols.

  5. The ball hits the ground immediately after the kick and then bounces up. If it really was a missed call, do you actually think you’re miserable blog would be the first to break the story. I think it’s time you visited the optometrist.

  6. LOL miserable blog? At least you read it!

    The ball obviously goes straight up from this angle. You are the one that needs glasses. Of course, you are an “SEC Official” so that is already implied in your name.

    Go back to Tennessee dumbass.

  7. BTW, obviously most people who view the video here agree that the refs missed the call. Do they also need glasses? Or is it perhaps YOU that need help? Of course it is you. But thanks for visiting and increasing advertising revenue. 🙂

  8. the refs cheated for cheater u. the ncaa said bama has cheated more than any school in the nation. the gun is cock at the head of the football team as i speak.
    the trigger will go off in a very short time.

  9. JJ was blocked illegally. And the ball did touch the ground, but before the restraining line. All that does is eliminate the ability of the receiving team calling a fair catch. The rule doesn’t say a receiving team player cannot be blocked until the ball hits the ground. It says they cannot be blocked until the kicking team is eligible to touch the ball. The kicking team cannot touch the ball until it breaks the plane of the restraining line,ten yards. Or if it hits the ground beyond the restraining line. Read the last part of Article 3-3 carefully. The ball can touch the ground continuously in the 10 yard zone prior to the restraining line and the kicking team still cant block the receiving team until it breaks the plane of the restraining line.

  10. Crapstonereport;

    The ball bounced, Julio (THUG) Jones touched it and it is a free ball!

    GET A LIFE YOU PATHETIC BOOB!

  11. Whoever filmed that video stayed on the ball long enough to verify that the ball was popped up and did not hit the ground at kickoff…something the CBS cameras did not do. The video evidence is there…you can choose to believe it or not.

    Thanks for posting Cap.

  12. I can’t access any videos, so tell me, has anyone checked UcheaT’s kicking formation for the onside kick? I heard that it was illegal. Never-the-less, it doesn’t matter who outplayed who. It doesn’t matter who had the most stats. All that matters is the final score. Every national champion has either lost a game or stunk up the field at least once during their championship season. The mark of a true champion is that they find a way to win against all odd, against their own inept play or extrordinary effort by an opponent. So f–k UcheaT! 1000 years from now the record will still indicate Bama 12 – UcheaT 10! How sweet it is! RTR!

  13. Denny
    After viewing the above again I agree, it appears the ball was popped up. However if you read my entire post my point was he was blocked illegaly whether the ball was popped up or not. The only thing the pop-up changes is whether JJ could make a fair catch or not. Since the ball was popped up he could have called for a fair catch. Regardless since the ball had not traveled the ten yards or touched the ground beyond the restraining line, making the kicking team eligible to touch, he WAS blocked illegaly.

  14. The video seems to show the ball not hitting the ground, but I recall it looking different on the original telecast. The ball touched the ground, nothing to see here.

    Indiana Vol, you ignorant slut. Julio never touched the ball. Take off your pumpkin glasses and watch the replays again.

    Since the ball touched the ground UT was allowed to block the Bama players. They did and recovered.

    The only penalty I’ve heard of on the play was when a UT player took his helmet off while still on the field. But I’ve not seen any definitive proof of this happening.

  15. Yamez I beg to differ with you. The ball did not touch Julio because he was hit and knocked back away from it. But Julio had run forward and was past the plane of the required ball travel. Since he had not touched the ball and the ball had not traveled the required distance, it was an illegal hit. After the ball passed Julio it then traveled the required distance and touched the ground. The bastards almost cost us a shot at the national championship. RTR!

  16. Crimson Turd Moron Nation specifically EGGhead White,

    Get ready for your 2nd season in a row with nothing to show for it!

    Meanwhile, your future owner Lane Kiffin and the Vols will win out and get a good bowl win to propel the Vols back into the national spotlight. Next year, Kiffin will pick up where Fulmer left off, owning the behinds of the Dirty Habitual Cheaters.

    Per Kirk Herbstreit on College Gameday, “teams had better get their licks in on the Vols now, because the Vols are back and will be a force in the SEC for years to come.”

    READ IT AND WEEP; low-life scum!

  17. Hey Homo Indiana Vol, your guys lost. GET OVER IT, YOU IDIOT!!!!

    Have fun going to some crappy bowl. You act like you’re going to be world beaters, but there will still be schools beating your crappy ass butt ugly orange team back to the stone age.

    Maybe you need to actually beat Florida before you pick a fight with a school not in your division.

    Lane Kiffin won’t own anyone. He’s a hand grenade waiting to happen. He might have some talent, but his team will start to disintegrate like in Oakland.

    It’s pretty sad when senile old Al Davis is right about your gay ass coach.

  18. It’s also pretty sad when some scum bag orange tang fan wants to sling shit against their betters. Don’t we have about a double your win advantage against your sorry team?

    Hey, you guys would have had plenty of violations if you hadn’t had that senile old doddering jerk Kramer running interference for your sorry ass team for years.

    I don’t know who was going down on the other, but Fulmer and Kramer sure did enjoy each other’s company. Right after Kramer retired, UcheaT’s fortunes took a huge nose dive, Hmmmmmm, I wonder why? It’s because Kramer wasn’t around smoothing things over while your sorry asses were cheating.

  19. The ball never touched the ground. You’re right. Should have been a U-cheaT penalty and our ball. Should have never come down the the field goal THAT WE BLOCKED BECAUSE DANIEL LINCOLN CAN’T HANDLE US!!!

    Cry Kiffin, Cry.

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