Defensive Delay of Game – Say Whaaaaaa?
Sean Taylor
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Let’s be honest. That game left a lot of questions for the officials. One of the strangest moments was a defensive delay of game against WVU.
After a big sack by the WVU defense, Baylor had the ball 2nd and goal on the 14-yard line. The Mountaineers looked poised to make a stand and get out of there with an 8-point win. Then while the Baylor quarterback was at the line calling out audibles, flags fly.
The announcer assumed it was false start or some kind of motion on the offense. Well, he was wrong. Check it out.
You know when you see the delay of game sign you’re thinking, “Sweet, delay of game on Baylor!” Well, along with everyone else watching the game, you were wrong. It was a delay of game alright…..on the defense. This set up Baylor with a 1st and goal on the 9-yard line and eventually they were able to get into the end zone and get within a 2-point conversion from tying the game up.
The announcer made light of a terrible situation by the 80’s style reaction. “Say whaaaaaa?”
After the game defensive coordinator Tony Gibson spoke about the strange penalty. The officials ruled that the Mountaineers were barking out calls in order to disrupt the snap count of the offense. Gibson said the Mountaineer defense was calling out their pre-snap shifts.
“We stem our front,” Gibson said. “We’ve done it for four years since I’ve been the coordinator and it’s never ever been called. We did it earlier in the game and they didn’t call it.”
While coming off the field, Coach Dana Holgorsen admitted to Jed Drenning that the officiating played a big role in the game.
Dana: "I don't know that I've ever seen a 3rd party have an effect on a game like I saw in this 4th quarter"
— Brandon Priddy (@abpriddy) October 22, 2017
Some may have been expecting a post game blowup from Holgorsen in regards to the officiating. The only reference to the officiating Holgorsen made was when he referenced “multiple (missed) holding calls in the fourth quarter.”
Despite the officiating and fourth quarter meltdown, the Mountaineers were able to escape Waco with a victory.