NCAA will look to close rule loophole that burned Ohio State against Oregon

The confusion that comes at the end of any close college football game puts immense stress on players, coaches, and referees. The Ohio State Buckeyes were burned a bit in their loss to the Oregon Ducks on a critical 12-men penalty.

Oregon intentionally played 12 defenders, which cost them five yards, but took four seconds off the clock as a result of the play. The NCAA is now looking to close the loophole that did not re-add time back on the clock, as it was not ruled as a dead-ball infraction. In turn, Ohio State had little chance of making anything happen with six seconds left on the clock.

Because the penalty was intentional and Oregon was not trying to make a substitution, the rules actually say Ohio State should've been awarded a 15-yard penalty. However, these mistakes happen, and the Buckeyes compounded the referee's mistake when Will Howard slid to the ground as time expired.

The change in rules is a sign that the NCAA is correcting something that should've never existed in the first place, as the penalized team should never benefit from an infraction.

Following Lanning's acknowledgment that the penalty was deliberate, the decision has not been well-received by the NCAA or numerous fans beyond Eugene. Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports reports that the NCAA is currently exploring options to prevent this strategy from becoming a regular occurrence in college football.

“Oregon coaches exploited a loophole in the rulebook and it could result in in-season action from the NCAA… Steve Shaw, the NCAA secretary rules editor, told Yahoo Sports on Tuesday that the NCAA Football Playing Rules Committee is actively ‘engaged’ in examining the play for possible action. The Big Ten officiating crew handled the play appropriately, Shaw said, but the rules committee is discussing a way to address the play."

“In the past, the rules committee has responded to such ‘fair play’ incidents with interpretation bulletins released during a season. The bulletins are often meant to be a directive for officials in games in the future.”

This is definitely a step in the right direction to correcting an absurd blind spot in the rule book. My guess is this gets pushed through by the end of the season.