Some folks commenting on the persa helmet hiT

[hungry]

There was one camera angle that looked like Kovacs grabbed face mask. It was a partially obstructed view because a NW player blocked it from the camera. I commented on it in the game thread that it probably should have been NW ball with a first down and a 15 yard penalty. But the bottom line is it wouldn't have affected the outcome of the game. Maybe made the score 7 points closer.

bingo!!

You can see on the still pic in the photobuck thread that Kovacs' hand is on the facemask. From the angle talked about here, you can see that Kovacs did indeed grab the facemask. It should have been a 15 yard penalty. Now let's go over the gametape and see if there should have been other penalties on every single play that didn't get called...I can think of probably about 15 blatant holds on NW that didn't get called in the first half...

I agree with Jever. EVEN IF they throw a flag here and NW gets the first down, Michigan still has an 11 point lead with around 4 minutes to go. Northwestern needs a td, 2 pt conversion, and a fg to even get the game tied...very, very unlikely. Fitzgerald should've known this and should've kept a level head. Dude almost had a heart attack out there....

To answer the other question, yes, there are legitimate ways that the QB's helmet can come off in a tackle/missed-tackle situation that is not a penalty. Look at when Kovacs hit the WMU QB. His helmet came off and that was a completely legitimate hit. Some have watched replays and said that Persa's helmet was not completely secured by the chinstrap. That is a penalty in high school ball, but I see it all the time in college. Kovacs went for a waist tackle and Persa ducked. IF he had wrapped his arms around Persa's head without grabbing the helmet with his hands, and the helmet comes off, then its legitimate. Imagine a headlock and you'll have the right picture.

 

[michlady77]

okay - i too think even if called, we had enough lead and onlhy about 7 minutes on the clock if i recall

 

[biggunsbob]

Here it is... It looks like his fingers on on the face mask to me...

 

[azian6er]

biggunsbob[/color]]Here it is... It looks like his fingers on on the face mask to me...

it does look like that ,HOWEVER, if you remember the play, Persa tried to avoid the tackle and instantaneously changed direction the moment kovacs got to him thus stepping into kovacs' outstretched arm. I think that fact mitigated the "intention" of the facemask grab, and thus the refs didnt call it (right call IMHO).

Was it the right call? It looked like the right call at the time, however, it is hard to argue with the picture or the fact that his helmet flew off. Maybe it should have been an incidental facemask penalty?

 

[hungry]

there is no incidental facemask penalty, there is only the 15 yard variety or the no-call now.

Simply putting your hand on a facemask is not cause for a penalty. You actually have to grab the facemask for it to be a penalty.

Its my opinion, but I think there should have been a penalty flag. I think there should have been about 4 holding flags on NW in the first half, too.

There are calls made every game that are bogus and there are penalties missed every game. That's the human element.

 

[biggunsbob]

I agree. Northwestern was holding on ever other play... I was disgusting.. But a flag should have been thrown on Kovacs...