Bobref

Which, of course, I never said or intimated. At least in this post. 😉 My point was that this specific game was unique in that it’s played for different reasons than most games — including games in which the Irish play — these days.

Philistine. 😆

This is the post I made last year, explaining the uniqueness of the Notre Dame - Navy rivalry. This Saturday, Notre Dame and Navy open the 2023 season by playing in Dublin, Ireland. That, in itself, is pretty cool. But I wouldn’t want the real significance of this game to be overlooked amidst the amazing setting, the special uniforms, and all the other neat stuff that will surround this Saturday’s game. At a time when college football is consumed by debate over NIL, the transfer portal, and schools playing musical chairs with conferences, this game is a throwback. It’s all about honor, loyalty and commitment. So, when you hear somebody remark that there’s no reason Notre Dame should be taking up a spot on their schedule every year with Navy, you’ll know what to say.

I wish all the talking heads would stop talking about how the running back position is “undervalued,” when what they really mean is that is “low” valued. The entire reason for this is simply basic economics. Teams can get a running back on a rookie deal at a low price, use him for 4 years, and then replace his production with another guy on his rookie deal. The response points to a guy like Taylor, who contributes far above what the average young running back does. Taylor’s base salary now is $4.3 million. He’s reportedly looking for a deal in the $11 to $12 million per year range. The average salary for a running back in the NFL is about $1.8 million. How many players do you think the Colts could get for the money Taylor wants? Sure they’re not going to get another Taylor — there aren’t many of those around. But think of it as buying a car. You have to choose between a $100K Mercedes or a $50K Ford. You’d rather have the Mercedes. It has a bunch of things the Ford doesn’t. But then you think about what you could do with that extra $50K if you went with the Ford. It will still get you where you need to go, albeit at a more basic level. And if it winds up in the shop for some reason, you’ve still got the $50K you didn’t spend on it to arrange alternate transportation.

Saw this one in a game video I was reviewing: 2nd and 10 at the B 40. Team A runs a sweep all the way down to the B 15. However, there’s a flag at the B 35 where A6 was called for holding. Crew enforced the 10 yd. penalty from the previous spot, making it 2nd & 20 from midfield. Should have been enforced from the spot of the foul, making it 2nd and 15 from the A 45. Obviously, the crew was confused by the new rule that provides for previous spot enforcement in certain circumstances that would previously have been enforced as spot fouls. SMH

Are you sure it wasn’t “Johnny Cash Night” at the game?

That’s just a tad bigger than the o-line I played behind there. 😉🤣😂😆

Twins committed to Ohio State. Other tackle is going to Michigan.

Ssshhhhh….. my wife will hear you. 😉

Not an IHSAA Observer.

This explains the “self-imposed” penalty. The hope is that if (when) the infractions committee hears the case, rejects Harbaugh’s “defense,” and imposes a 4 game suspension, he’ll get credit for “time served,” and still be ready for Texas in Week 2. An interesting way to hedge your bets.

There was no one scheduled to observe that game, so JR is probably correct, although there are some observers who do get out of the pressbox. 😉 Did this mystery person stay on the same sideline, or spend time on both?

Move to Rochester.

The mighty, mighty Eagles of St. Edward moved up 2 spots to #14 after a dominant win against Center Grove. They could move up even more if they take care of business against #21 Our Lady of Good Counsel from Maryland this weekend. It’s a great day to be an Eagle!

As promised, I’ve reviewed the video and compared it to the criticisms you voiced. Here are my impressions. But first, of course, a disclaimer. My review was not of the Hudl video taken by the teams. Rather, it was an archived broadcast by someone called “Michiana Video.” Each medium has its shortcomings and advantages. But the bottom line is, as an IHSAA Observer, I would never evaluate a crew’s performance based on video alone. There’s simply too much important stuff that can only be appreciated in an in-person observation. So, this review is not intended to represent a complete evaluation of the crew’s performance, by any means. It’s simply my expression of what I saw on the particular video I had. Having said that, here’s what I think. Overall, the crew had a fine game. Their positioning and signaling was by the book. They appeared to communicate among the crew members very well. All their penalty enforcements were done efficiently and correctly. Had I been an observer at their game, there are a few mechanics issues we’d talk about. But they are neither numerous, nor irremediable. And in this game, they did not result in any incorrect calls, as far as I could tell. “Calling unsportsmanlike for taunting when a player starches the ball carrier at the goal like [sic] and flexes when he celebrates.” This was on a big play. It occurred at 10:41 of the 4th period on a failed 2 pt. try that kept it a 2 score game. The defender made a great play. Incidentally, this was a textbook example of legal forcible contact against a defenseless receiver — because the contact occurred during an attempt to tackle in which the defender wrapped up the runner. It might find its way into a training video. Unfortunately, when a tackler then stands over the player and flexes, that’s also a textbook example of taunting. I guarantee that gets called 100% of the time in high school. The officials correctly ruled the try failed and the 15 yd. penalty was enforced on the succeeding kickoff. “Couldn’t decide between offside and false start.” Like many fans, you don’t understand what actually happened here. But if you know what to look for, it’s clear what happened. Both the umpire and a wing official had flags prior to the snap. The umpire, because his pre-snap responsibility is the snapper and interior linemen, is focused there. He sees one move before the snap and throws his flag. At the same time, the wing official has a defender in the neutral zone, which is his area of responsibility, but not the umpire’s. It’s necessary for the two officials to communicate with one another to determine which foul occurred first. In this case they determined the encroachment by the defense caused the false start by the offense. So, only the penalty by the defense is enforced. Textbook officiating. Not indecision, just good crew communication. Before the next play, there was a play stoppage for what looked like a false start on the offense, but there was no signal or yardage enforcement. No idea what happened. Had I been the IHSAA observer on this game, this would have been one of the subjects of the postgame debrief. “Calling a clear as day touchdown down at the 1.” I assume you’re referring to the play in the 3rd period, about 7:20. Ball was at the + 5 yd. line. The linesman does a very nice job of going to the goal line at the snap, but when the QB keep comes his way he gives up the goal line instead of backing down the goal line extended. This is an easily correctable mechanics error. Fortunately, it didn’t come back to bite him because the ball is very clearly down well short of the GL. I don’t know what the player said to the umpire that resulted in the unsportsmanlike conduct flag, but neither do you. Try to keep in mind that this high school football, not the NFL. There is a much lower tolerance for disrespectful remarks to game officials. The field is supposed to be an extension of the classroom, remember. “Garbage defensive holding that was clearly pass interference.” With 1 sec. left in 3rd period, pass incomplete down the middle, as receiver is literally tackled by the DB. From the camera view I had, it’s unclear whether the tackle started before or after the pass was thrown, but I agree it probably should have been called DPI. Difference is 5 yds. in the enforcement, so they now had 3rd and 6 instead of 3rd and 1. Fortunately, they ended up making the first down, so the discussion is basically academic. Even so, it was a close call that I believe, based on the video, was incorrect. At game speed, really close. Not “garbage.” I certainly did not observe anything remotely unprofessional on the video I watched. In our observations, we give crews a score from 1 - 10. Based on what I saw on the video, I would have rated this crew’s performance a 7 — meaning they are on the margin between regional and semistate. So, I guess we disagree.

I have the video. I’m currently laid up after knee surgery, so I’ll be able to get to it this week. I know you’re waiting with bated breath. 😂

Reading these makes me sad. 😭

Half of it has already gone away. Used to be, not only couldn’t an Indiana team travel more than 300 mi. from the state line, but you couldn’t play a team from beyond that distance even if the game was in Indiana. Now the 300 mi. limit only applies to travel.

I’ll see if it’s obvious on the video.

Both places where they station officials because the view is so good. 😂

I looked and neither Elkhart nor Concord has shared the Hudl video with the Indiana Football Officials Association yet. I have administrator access to the IFOA’s Hudl account. When the video gets shared, I’ll look at it and tell you what I think.

OK, I can see there’s no use having anything like an intelligent dialogue here. May I ask what the vantage point was for your observations? Sideline? Pressbox? Grandstand? Video stream? And it’s “encroachment.” Not offsides or a neutral zone infraction. You’re welcome. 😉

There is no “offsides” penalty in high school football. And what’s a “petty” unsportsmanlike conduct penalty?

Details?

Coaches teach that “inside hold” technique. Very difficult to see.