Should replay reviews in college football be allowed on player injury clock stoppages?
By his standards, N.C. State wide receiver Emeka Emezie was having a quiet day.
On the second drive of the third quarter for the Wolfpack, Devin Leary found Emezie, the school’s all-time receptions leader, for a 10-yard gain on third and nine to keep the chains moving.
Emezie had to go low to the ground to secure the ball, nothing the savvy veteran hasn’t done before. It was questionable if he secured the ball, though, but the officials moved the chains and signaled first down.
Leary, being heads up on the play, hurried the offense to the line of scrimmage, quickly trying to snap the ball before there was enough time for a review.
As N.C. State center Grant Gibson was about to snap the ball, Seminoles defensive end Keir Thomas dropped to the ground with an apparent injury. It should be noted that Thomas, who wasn’t in on the Emezie tackle, made his way from the original line of scrimmage to the new first down marker with no issues, but as soon as the ball was about to be snapped he dropped like a sack of potatoes.
Officials obviously have no way of proving it, but it’s been a thing in college football for a while now that players are signaled to act injured to stop the clock when an offense is playing hurry-up. Not accusing Thomas of doing that, but his sudden “injury” did stop the clock and give officials a chance to review the play. After going to the replay monitor, the officials ruled the pass incomplete and N.C. State was forced to punt. The change of possessions came at a critical point of the game. The Wolfpack led 21-14, but the Noles were gaining momentum after back-to-back scores in the third quarter.
Luckily, the N.C. State defense didn’t allow another point the rest of the way, but considering how it seemed momentum was swinging, FSU had a chance to go down and tie the game.
You make the call
