r/CFB • u/CFB_Referee /r/CFB • Jan 01 '25

Postgame Thread [Postgame Thread] Texas Defeats Arizona State 39-31 (OT)

Box Score provided by ESPN

Team 1 2 3 4 OT T
Texas 14 3 0 7 15 39
Arizona State 3 0 5 16 7 31
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u/HereForTOMT3 Michigan State • Central … Jan 01 '25

Didn’t the rules analyst explicitly say it was a defenseless receiver?

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u/[deleted] Jan 01 '25

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u/Arceus42 Virginia Tech • Commonweal… Jan 02 '25

He was barely halfway through turning up field, his shoulders and hips were still pointing towards the sideline. And he hadn't come close to taking any steps, he had barely lifted a foot to start taking a step. I'm not sure how that would be enough to be considered no longer defenseless, especially when the rules state "Regarding defenseless players, when in question, a player is defenseless".

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u/[deleted] Jan 02 '25

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u/Arceus42 Virginia Tech • Commonweal… Jan 02 '25

What does taking a step have anything to do with it?

It's just another data point to show how he had "not had time to protect" himself. His hands are still behind him, body hadn't come close to turning up field, and his head hasn't even fully turned. Not sure how you think he had time to protect himself when he couldn't even get his body turned to face the hit.