Olympic Fan
09-13-2011, 06:40 PM
This is bizarre ...
Anybody else stay up Saturday night and see the end of the Utah-Southern Cal game from the Coliseum in LA?
Here's the situation: USC is up 17-14 with seconds left as Utah lines up for a 41-yard game-tying field goal. The kick is blocked and USC's Torrin Harris picks it up and heads for the end zone. Before he gets there, the clock runs out and the USC team pours onto the field. The officials throw their flags -- clearly before Harris crosses the goalline. After a call to the press box, the officials rule that because of the new celebration penalty, the touchdown doesn't count and the final score is 17-14 USC.
But, wait ... several hours later, after consultation withe the Pac 12 office, the officials claim there was a "miscommunication" and that the penalty should have been unsportsmanlike behavior -- a deadball penalty -- and not the new celebration rule (which declares that if it occurs before the TD is scored, it's enforced from the spot the ball is when the penalty is called). By rule, the TD should have counted. Only thing is, if that's what the officials meant to call, then why didn't they have USC line up for the extra point?
No matter -- the Pac 12 ruled that the touchdown DID count and that the final score is officially 23-14 USC.
Why does this matter?
Well, it turns out that the bettring line on the game was either 8 or 8 1/2 points, depending on the casino in Vegas. So the ruling changed the winner (vs. the line) from Utah to USC.
That's not the end of the story. Apparently, about half the Vegas casinos have rules that postgame forfeits or protests or scorechanges will not impact the bets -- hence those casinos pay out Utah as the winner. The other half of the casinos have no such rule, so they pay out USC as the winner. I wonder how many Utah bettors got paid at that second group of casinos before the final score was changed? And how many USC bettors threw their tickets away before the score was reversed?
What a crazy outcome.
Anybody else stay up Saturday night and see the end of the Utah-Southern Cal game from the Coliseum in LA?
Here's the situation: USC is up 17-14 with seconds left as Utah lines up for a 41-yard game-tying field goal. The kick is blocked and USC's Torrin Harris picks it up and heads for the end zone. Before he gets there, the clock runs out and the USC team pours onto the field. The officials throw their flags -- clearly before Harris crosses the goalline. After a call to the press box, the officials rule that because of the new celebration penalty, the touchdown doesn't count and the final score is 17-14 USC.
But, wait ... several hours later, after consultation withe the Pac 12 office, the officials claim there was a "miscommunication" and that the penalty should have been unsportsmanlike behavior -- a deadball penalty -- and not the new celebration rule (which declares that if it occurs before the TD is scored, it's enforced from the spot the ball is when the penalty is called). By rule, the TD should have counted. Only thing is, if that's what the officials meant to call, then why didn't they have USC line up for the extra point?
No matter -- the Pac 12 ruled that the touchdown DID count and that the final score is officially 23-14 USC.
Why does this matter?
Well, it turns out that the bettring line on the game was either 8 or 8 1/2 points, depending on the casino in Vegas. So the ruling changed the winner (vs. the line) from Utah to USC.
That's not the end of the story. Apparently, about half the Vegas casinos have rules that postgame forfeits or protests or scorechanges will not impact the bets -- hence those casinos pay out Utah as the winner. The other half of the casinos have no such rule, so they pay out USC as the winner. I wonder how many Utah bettors got paid at that second group of casinos before the final score was changed? And how many USC bettors threw their tickets away before the score was reversed?
What a crazy outcome.