Indisputable Visual Evidence: Horse Collar
7 comments so far
October 9, 2009 by
In the waning moments of the 3rd quarter Ndamukong Suh was flagged for a horse collar tackle on Missouri quarterback Blaine Gabbert. Instead of facing 3rd and 5, the 15-yard penalty extended Missouri's drive into Nebraska territory. (Thankfully, that drive stalled when Missouri failed to convert on 4th and 20 at the NU 32 yard line.)
The question remained (at our watch party at least). Was it a horse collar? The NCAA is emphasizing the rule this year. So, let's dust off the old rule book for clarification.
The NCAA Football 2009 Rules and Interpretations says in Section 1, Article 2, Rule 2-34:
All players are prohibited from grabbing the inside back collar of the shoulder pads or jersey, or the inside collar of the side of the shoulder pads or jersey, and immediately pulling the ball carrier down.
Suh clearly had a hold of Gabbert's jersey, but never grabbed the inside collar of the jersey or shoulder pads.
There were a number of questionable officiating calls on both sides Thursday night. (Gabbert's touchdown dive on 4th down. Suh's hands to the face penalty. A missed false start on NU's last drive. etc. etc.)
But was this particular play a horse collar? Horse hockey!
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Dwayne Oct 09 09
Ahhh. English comprehension. One of my pitfalls in taking exams. By rule definition, the photo doesn't appear that Suh has the inside back collar. The replay and photo after this I believe with his arm over Gabbert's shoulder could possibly be what warranted the official to throw the flag. Again, I think it's the wrong call by rule definition.
kw Oct 09 09
There were some questionable calls in this one. But they had nearly as many penalties as we did, so I won't complain too much. Mostly because we won. Suh is the only guy I've ever seen that can pull someone down with one hand. If he has a hand on you, you're not escaping. His grip is like a pit bulls bite.
Brad Oct 09 09
Was Helu injured and if so what extent?
scott Oct 09 09
Gabbert isn't a small guy....Suh is just a beast.
Some of the officiating was suspect but they don't have the luxury to watch the replay on this particular play and I think they missed more than one false start call on us in the 4th quarter. The ref that made the call didn't have a clear view of it as he was standing behind it and probably assumed that was the only way Suh could bring him down one handed.
I don't know if anyone else saw it but Ricky Henry let out a little frustration after one of his penalties and was very close to getting a personal foul penalty with a late hit on one of his blocks.
Jason Oct 09 09
The officiating was a little suspect, to be sure. Maybe the weather affected the zebras too?
Just to be clear. The point of this post wasn't to complain about the officiating, but to clarify exactly what is and isn't a horse collar. I wasn't sure when I watched the replay last night, so I looked it up today and figured others might be unsure as well.
none Oct 11 09
Thank You nice information.
willy Oct 12 09
Just to clarify regarding the left hand of Mr. Suh grabbing the left shoulder of Gabbert, I ran TiVo back and forth and so neither hand was a horse collar although I agree that the official might well have assumed that no one could have that much strength to pull down a 340 lb person with such apparant ease. The right as shown speaks for itself . the left was on the opposite side of the ref and wrist of Mr. Suh was around the left arm and shoulder of Gabbert. Missed call!