Anyone know where video of THE 4th down play can be found?

[JohnStOnge]

My DVR quit recording for some reason a little after halftime. I would love to be able to look at that 4th down play again to see if I'd still think, as I did while watching the play, that the guy was short of the first down. I tried Youtube and couldn't find anything.

Not that big a deal to me since I'm not a fan of either school but I'd still like to see that again. To me it's just another reminder of luck playing a role in football. Who won the national championship basically depended on where the officials spotted the ball as well as where they put the chains when they tried to move them back to where they were.

The officials are something neither team can control. I think they typically do a good job but a call here that might not have been made, a call not made there that might have been made, a spot of the ball, etc., can make a huge difference in a close football game.

The way I look at it if you're not good enough to win a national championship luck's not going to help you. But I'm one who believes that the overwhelming majority of national champions have had some luck somewhere along the way.

[caribbeanhen]

The NCAA hired a Chinese guy to filter that video out and the NCAA has the orginal locked in the secret vault....

all kidding aside, and this from a Delaware fan... somehow someway EWU finds a way to win that game regardless of that fiasco

[JBB]

Yes, the game is still up in its entirety on ESPN 360. Go to the replay menu. Scroll down to Friday.

[JohnStOnge]

The NCAA hired a Chinese guy to filter that video out and the NCAA has the orginal locked in the secret vault....

all kidding aside, and this from a Delaware fan... somehow someway EWU finds a way to win that game regardless of that fiasco

Whether or not EWU would have had a reasonable probability of winning anyway depends on how much time was left and how many timeouts EWU had left. Those are some other things I don't know right now though I guess I could look it up. I'm not taking anything away from EWU in any case. If they hadn't staged a great comeback and somehow stopped Delaware from scoring more points it wouldn't have made any difference. Also they made Delaware settle for field goals a couple of times in the first half when Delaware's offense was really rolling. If McNeese won a national championship under such circumstances I'd sure take it and wouldn't apologize for it at all.

[JohnStOnge]

Yes, the game is still up in its entirety on ESPN 360. Go to the replay menu. Scroll down to Friday.

Ok thanks. I looked and I think what I thought when I saw it live. I think he was short. Also, I'd forgotten that the guy on the side toward the camera had a different spot than the guy on the other side but the officials took the spot by the guy on the other side. I think the guy towards the camera had the better spot.

To me the ball clearly hit the ground short of the yellow line and the yellow line was right on the stick of the chains they used to measure. The back's head crossed the yellow line and maybe the ball did after it first hit the ground but it definitely hit the ground short of the yellow line. I think the spot should've been at about the outside edge of the 21 yard line marker.

Too bad for Delaware and good break for EWU. There was 3:30 left at that point. How many timeouts did EWU have? If I'm thinking right even if they didn't have any they could've gotten the ball back with something in the neighborhood of 40 or 50 seconds left if they could've stopped Delaware without a first down and Delaware didn't do anything to stop the clock.

[Blue Hen 53]

Just returned from Frisco, I am spent. It should not have come down to "the spot"...that being said, we got robbed!

Delaware coach K.C. Keeler viewed videotape late Friday with NCAA and CAA officials and "it was clear as day," he said, Delaware should have regained possession.

[JBB]

This post is titled:

Controversy is part of the identity of this years FCS National Champions

None of their playoff games were without at least 1 disputed critical call in favor of the Eagles. The NDSU game had five bad calls on the field and 3 bad calls in the replay booth for a total of 8 calls directly affecting the games outcome. All of the EWU scores in regulation were directly attributable to bad calls improperly advancing drives. We have the film as do the Blue Hens and Nova.

Until now the response has mainly been something like good teams find a way to win or something similar like you are a sore loser.

My feeling is there should be an attempt made to improve the officiating. I suggest:

1) peer review
2) accountability
3) education

[Rekdiver]

I was wondering how long it would take for the UD fans to focus on that play.......... If your offense had done anything in the last quarter it wouldn't have mattered............You lost that game for a bunch of reasons other than a discretionary call on a spot.

[Lehigh Football Nation]

This post is titled:

Controversy is part of the identity of this years FCS National Champions

None of their playoff games were without at least 1 disputed critical call in favor of the Eagles. The NDSU game had five bad calls on the field and 3 bad calls in the replay booth for a total of 8 calls directly affecting the games outcome. All of the EWU scores in regulation were directly attributable to bad calls improperly advancing drives. We have the film as do the Blue Hens and Nova.

Until now the response has mainly been something like good teams find a way to win or something similar like you are a sore loser.

My feeling is there should be an attempt made to improve the officiating. I suggest:

1) peer review
2) accountability
3) education

This is why EWU was not my No. 1 team. It's a way to focus the issue on the problems of the officiating in the playoffs in general. It was absolutely disgraceful.

[Go Cats]

This post is titled:

Controversy is part of the identity of this years FCS National Champions

None of their playoff games were without at least 1 disputed critical call in favor of the Eagles. The NDSU game had five bad calls on the field and 3 bad calls in the replay booth for a total of 8 calls directly affecting the games outcome. All of the EWU scores in regulation were directly attributable to bad calls improperly advancing drives. We have the film as do the Blue Hens and Nova.

Until now the response has mainly been something like good teams find a way to win or something similar like you are a sore loser.

My feeling is there should be an attempt made to improve the officiating. I suggest:

1) peer review
2) accountability
3) education

why do we only pick on controversial calls that win or lose games? what about holding that we all agree happens somewhere on the field almost every play, i am sure there was a few not called in this particular game that may have stopped a scoring drive by either team. wait, i guess people didn't see them so no reason to criticize the official's for those. when watching on TV or at the game don't forget the refs have better views then we do, quit criticizing them for one call that you think changed the game, there is no replay of your opinion to guarantee your outcome.

[100%GRIZ]

And I thought there would of been tons of Blue Hens giving EWU a pat on the back for a Well deserved win. Guess the #1 defense didn't show up in the second half! I'm a thinking the Blue Hens thought the game was over when they were ahead 19-0!

[BlueHenSinfonian]

And I thought there would of been tons of Blue Hens giving EWU a pat on the back for a Well deserved win. Guess the #1 defense didn't show up in the second half! I'm a thinking the Blue Hens thought the game was over when they were ahead 19-0!

In all fairness most of us are happy for EWU, and dissapointed that a game which we should have won easily (just from how it started) turned around on us as fast as it did. I think most Delaware fans would admit that we got soft in the second half, and that there was no excuse for letting the game get so close that the disputed call mattered. EWU played some great football in the second half, and they earned their win. That still doesn't mean that we have to be happy with an official's decision that could have turned the whole thing around.

[I-16Bandit]

Just returned from Frisco, I am spent. It should not have come down to "the spot"...that being said, we got robbed!

Delaware coach K.C. Keeler viewed videotape late Friday with NCAA and CAA officials and "it was clear as day," he said, Delaware should have regained possession.

It is also clear as day that the game was 2 days ago. Nothing is going to change. xviolinx

[LURules]

While the officials clearly blew the spot and the situation was a further mess with the chains moving, to me the game changing play occurred with Delaware up 19-6 and 3rd and 11 at the 50. The receiver dropped a perfect pass in stride that would have moved the chains and put Delaware close to FG range, instead they are punting and EWU was never stopped again and Delaware never threatened again.

To be fair in every game there are a handful of crucial plays, this one sticks in my mind. I am sure there are other plays that others view as critical. What appeared to be a boring game early in the third quarter turned into a great game, despite the "spot" play.

[parr90]

Just returned from Frisco, I am spent. It should not have come down to "the spot"...that being said, we got robbed!

Delaware coach K.C. Keeler viewed videotape late Friday with NCAA and CAA officials and "it was clear as day," he said, Delaware should have regained possession.

And if GSU would have not turned the ball over 5 times they would have beat you.....bla bla bla. Its part of it. Del should have played football in the 2nd half and EW wouldnt have been in it. I could point out what ifs in any game played. You guys should have kept running the ball, which you were having your way doing.

[EWU Grad 82]

In all fairness most of us are happy for EWU, and dissapointed that a game which we should have won easily (just from how it started) turned around on us as fast as it did. I think most Delaware fans would admit that we got soft in the second half, and that there was no excuse for letting the game get so close that the disputed call mattered. EWU played some great football in the second half, and they earned their win. That still doesn't mean that we have to be happy with an official's decision that could have turned the whole thing around.

Congratulations on a great season. The Hens are a fantastic team with a lot to be proud of. It's just a shame that there had to be a loser in such a hard fought game. Spoke to several Blue Hen fans at the tail gate event and they are great folks.

I would agree that from a Blue Hen fan perspective being up 19 -0 would indicate that you were most certainly on your way to a victory. From an Eagle perspective however, we knew the outcome was far from certain. We've watched our team come from behind all year and find ways to win when all appeared lost. As you will recall the EWU fans were never silent even when down by 19, this was a good indication that we knew our team wouldn't quit.

I think that the reason your offense got soft was the pounding they took from Eastern's defense for 2 and a half quarters, if you don't believe it just ask Villanova . A lot of folks don't think EWU has a solid defense based on the stats, but there is more to the story than just raw numbers. Yes they give up more yards than the Hens, but they make big, game changing stops and will simply wear down even a big, hard nosed O line such as yours. During the fourth quarter we were able to pressure Devlin and take him out of his comfort zone.

As you witnessed, our offense is explosive even without our star RB on the field. I appeared as if the Hen's defense was somewhat confused by the abilities of our QB and WRs. I don't think they've seen a teams that pass like the teams in the Big Sky.

As far as the officials are concerned, from where I sat it appeared that Brown was over by at least two feet but I wasn't on the field so I could be wrong. If we want to question the officials I can point out several instances where Rennard Williams was blatantly held in the presence of an official with no call, there was at least one case of your DB pushing off on our WR, Brandon Kaufman with no call and during the 4th quarter Devlin was in the pocket and threw the ball to no receiver near where he threw, again with no call. I could go on about calls I disagree with but it doesn't matter what I think, only the official's opinions counts. Good teams fight through bad calls and fortunately for us that's what the Eagles did.

[srgrizizen]

I hardly think the Delaware coach is a fair arbiter of whether the spot was correct or not. I interpreted his whining as a lame attempt to preemptively deflect criticism of his coachiong decisions toward the end of the game. As for the tape, I wonder how many people were watching the end of the play in relation to the yellow line. I had become so accustomed to the extraordinary accuracy of that artificial construct, that I thought the play was stopped short as well. But on another play that was measured, the line was off by a good half-yard. So the play may well have been short of that line but still far enough to make the first down when measured by the chain. I'm not insisting that's what happened, just suggesting the possibility. Still, it's extrememly likely that the spot chosen AFTER the replay officials had reviewed the tapes was correct. And they claimed they found the exact original hole in the turf where the stick had been before the play. Maybe the chain was too short? And even if it was a blown call, that's part of any game played or refereed by fallible humans. Fallible as in missing an extra point, for example.

[b_f_c_99]

"As you witnessed, our offense is explosive even without our star RB on the field. I appeared as if the Hen's defense was somewhat confused by the abilities of our QB and WRs. I don't think they've seen a teams that pass like the teams in the Big Sky."


I pointed this out in my game analysis. The typical CAA team thinks the Big Sky is soft on defense, but other than Delaware, they don't see teams that really can throw the ball. I'm sure they were stunned.

[caribbeanhen]

the spot was wrong... but as many have already said, Delaware had all night to win that game, not going to blame the bad spot

[dudeitsaid]

It is really a bummer when officiating controversy effects any games as much as it did in EWU's last 3 games. I don't blame any of the fans for questioning the calls, as when I've been on the other end of the call, I've done the same thing. All calls effect the game in some way. And the reason for the review in the first place is because the call on the field is not rock solid. So in many cases, the controversy is bound to continue regardless of which way the "call" bounces.

But, as some have already said, the calls are not within the players control. And the hypothetical "what-ifs" can be thrown around by both sides. I personally think in just about every call that went EWU's way, if it hadn't, they still would've found a way to overcome and win. Others think their team might have. We'll never really know, so we just end up wallowing in the wonder.

I think the refs are trying to do a good job, and for the most part really do not want to be a part of messing up a critical call in a big game. I like replay in the big games because I want the call to be right. I just think with replay in the FCS games, there are rarely going to be enough camera angles as compared to NFL and big FBS games to really see the amount of angles necessary to find disputable evidence. Were there any calls these playoffs that were actually overturned? I don't think any were in EWU's games.

This game was an amazing experience. I'm glad it was close and dramatic. But in most blowouts, these types of conversations don't seem to happen as much because they don't matter as much in the scope of the whole game.

Finally, I don't know that players in this kind of game really check out. If Delaware really came out of halftime thinking 12 points was going to be the victory, they deserved to lose. I personally think both teams played hard all night. I thought the difference was in the coaching. EWU made the appropriate adjustments. Delaware stuck with their original game plan with very little modification in the second half. For EWU, balance wasn't working, so they went almost exclusively to the air. Our line did a great job of protecting the QB, and the recievers made some great grabs. Finally, the coaches called in an uptempo game plan, and it worked well.

[fball27]

Just returned from Frisco, I am spent. It should not have come down to "the spot"...that being said, we got robbed!

Delaware coach K.C. Keeler viewed videotape late Friday with NCAA and CAA officials and "it was clear as day," he said, Delaware should have regained possession.

Keeler needs to go back and review his coaching or lack of coaching decisions in the second half. He blew the game, not the officials. He was outcoached and his players were outplayed the second half. It's that simple. EWU earned that win and should be congratulated by Keeler and Company. He needs to stop whining and move on to greener pastures (UCONN) if he's lucky enough to get the offer.

[bulldog]

Keeler needs to go back and review his coaching or lack of coaching decisions in the second half. He blew the game, not the officials. He was outcoached and his players were outplayed the second half. It's that simple.

Yep!

[Houndawg]

This post is titled:

Controversy is part of the identity of this years FCS National Champions

None of their playoff games were without at least 1 disputed critical call in favor of the Eagles. The NDSU game had five bad calls on the field and 3 bad calls in the replay booth for a total of 8 calls directly affecting the games outcome. All of the EWU scores in regulation were directly attributable to bad calls improperly advancing drives. We have the film as do the Blue Hens and Nova.

Until now the response has mainly been something like good teams find a way to win or something similar like you are a sore loser.

My feeling is there should be an attempt made to improve the officiating. I suggest:

1) peer review
2) accountability
3) education


Stay classy, bj, act like you've been to the playoffs before.

[henfan]

Who cares about the spot? The overwhelming of Blue Hen fans I spoke with before and after the game couldn't care less. The EWU Eagles won the game fair and square. They're undisputed champions. On to next season.

[dsmil1]

The spot doesn't matter, the chains do. They re-spotted it to the beginning of the 22. The chain originally was on the other side of the 22...no first down.

[Wildcat80]

Once the chains moved it was decided......such is life & football. UDel had the lead & lost it. Should have no complaints.

[Big Al]

Okay, so you're up 19-0, lose 20-19 and you're complaining because a bad spot with 3 minutes left to go cost you the game?

xbawlingxxlolxxrolleyesx

Stay classy, KC Keeler.

Loved, loved, LOVED, watching EWU win the game with such a gutsy comeback.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=dw-lions091510

[SonuvaHenx2]

In all fairness most of us are happy for EWU, and dissapointed that a game which we should have won easily (just from how it started) turned around on us as fast as it did. I think most Delaware fans would admit that we got soft in the second half, and that there was no excuse for letting the game get so close that the disputed call mattered. EWU played some great football in the second half, and they earned their win. That still doesn't mean that we have to be happy with an official's decision that could have turned the whole thing around.

This. Exactly.
Yes, the call may have been bad, and changed (possibly) the outcome of the game.
But EWU was the better team, by far, in the second half, and they did what they had to do to get the W.

Also, we all seem to forget that UD got the ball back after that, and had another chance to go get the lead back. They didn't get it done, and so they lost. That call wouldn't have mattered in the least if the Hens had scored on their final drive.