Whew!
USC holds on with a couple strange calls by Charlie Weis at the end of the game. One thing about today's game that was discussed in the locker room. There was a lot more trash talking than usual for a USC-Notre Dame game.
USC players attributed it to the Irish's frustration over USC's winning streak. One thing USC did not dispute was some sloppy personal foul penalties although Pete Carroll absolved the late hit call on Taylor Mays.
That's because it wasn't a late hit. The ND player was still in play when he hit him. What are players suppose to do on that?
He should also absolve the other personal foul Mays received earlier in the game.
Right? That was the exact same thing Teo did to Barkley.
I agree with most of what has been previously said, but two things no one has mentioned, which occurred in the last few plays:
1. The game was over the first time. Watching it in slo-mo, it is obvious that the ball is knocked free with one second remaining, but the play isn't over until the pass hits the turf. Time remaining is 0.0 when this happens. Horrible call by the replay official. And have you ever seen an incomplete pass play only take 3 secs?
2. The final personal foul on Mays, where he knocked Pink-Boy's helmet off, took a lot of imagination for the ref to justifiy. He couldn't call "late hit" because Pinky wasn't down when May's hit him. He couldn't call "helmet-to-helmet" because Mays lead with his shoulder, which was what knocked the helmet off. So he called "defenseless player", a call usually reserved to protect a WR after an incomplete pass. In this case, the WR caught the ball, landed, and was falling backwards (toward the goal) when Taylor Mays stopped his progress, and attempted to dislodge the ball. It's a dangerous precedent to call "defenseless player" in a situation when a legal hit is applied, in the course of an going play, to a guy who either can't see it coming or can't assume a posture of defense. This happens a dozen times a game. Sorry that Pinky got hurt, but if I'm a coach, I want my DBs to unload on any WR attempting to catch a ball over the middle on 4th and 10 with the game on the line. Football is a violent sport, and that's exactly the situation where a hard hit is justified.
JAG, well said, I totally concur with those 2 statements