THEY STOPPED THE CLOCK, JIM
The controversy is usually related to the final 3 snaps of the game. Then-MSU Savior Jeff Smoker was the QB and drove his team down the field in the final minutes, the Spartans trailing 24-20. Here's some key notes about the last drive:
- MSU on the 50 yard line
- 1 minute, 25 seconds left in the game, 1 timeout remaining
- Facing 4th and 16
Smoker throws an incomplete pass, which would effectively end the game...but wait. Michigan's defensive backs had double-teamed Charles Rodgers (star MSU Receiver at the time) and one of the held him at the line of scrimmage and grabbed his facemask, resulting in an automatic 1st down and 15 yards for MSU.
After 2 incomplete passes, facing 3rd and 10, Smoker throws a first down to Herb Haygood. 43 seconds remaining. 18 yard line. Very next play, Smoker gets covered by the Michigan Defensive Line and is sacked. MSU uses it's last time out to stop the clock.
As MSU players walk toward the sideline to talk to coaches, refs throw a flag...Michigan called for 12 men on the field on that 1st down sack. When this happens, standard NCAA procedure is to stop the clock, blow the play dead, and the penalty is half the distance to the end zone. Since the refs didn't realize there were 12 men until after MSU called time out, the clock had already been stopped. MSU should not have needed to take their last time out, but as in all games, there is a certain degree of error in officiating.
However, mistake 2 from the refs: they gave the Spartans half the distance to the end zone from the 22 yard line, where Smoker was sacked. It should have been from where the play started, the 18 yard line. MSU should have gotten the ball at the 9 yard line, but instead got it from the 11. Well, 2 yards isn't a big deal, right? It turned out to be quite a big deal (keep reading).
A 3rd mistake also presents itself: Michigan was penalized, the ball was moved forward, but for some reason, it is second down for the Spartans, even though the penalty came as soon as the ball was snapped on FIRST down. The Spartans should have had one extra down to work with.
Now 27 seconds left, 4th and 5 after two incomplete passes. Smoker throws a short slant to RB TJ Duckett for the first down, ball at the 4 yard line. Smoker spikes the ball on the next play, clock stopped at 17 seconds, 2nd down. Smoker scrambles, dives for the end zone as he gets tackled AND....
...he's stopped at the 1 yard line. Clock keeps running
Remember, MSU has no timeouts left because of the officiating miscue, so Smoker rushes to get off the turf. MSU lines up as quick as it can to spike the ball...the clock ticks...and ticks...and ticks...and it APPEARS to stop about a half-second early, with 1 second on the clock.
Next play, Smoker is on his heels, but throws a lob to TJ Duckett in the end zone. Ball caught, game over. Here's the clip of the last 2 plays. Keep in mind this is the ABC video, but the audio is the radio commentators that cover Michigan sports, so you can hear a small bias.
Two distinct viewpoints on whether or not the play should have existed:
Viewpoint 1: Spartans got home-cooking, the clock operator stopped the clock too soon just to give MSU another chance to score. Completely valid. The NCAA changed who works the clock to avoid either this from happening again, if this is actually what happened, or to avoid the perception that this CAN happen.
Viewpoint 2: The clock shown on TV and stadium scoreboards lie slightly - the clock will change from displaying "0:02" to "0:01" when time reaches 1 and nine-tenths seconds remaining, i.e. the clock shows 1 second for "0:01.9, 0:01.8, 0:01.7", etc. It continues display 1 second for "0:00.9, 0:00.8, 0:00.7" etc, so the clock will actually take 2 seconds for "0:01" to change to "0:00". Confusing, I know.
Truth is, it will always be a controversial ending. However, if you think Michigan got robbed, then it works both ways: the Spartans should have been given an extra two yards after Michigan's penalty and arguably, an extra down and time out. Who knows what would've happened if the refs and clock operators were guaranteed to be correct?
If you want to watch the full game in it's entirety, you can actually do so on Hulu! I love the internet.
Until tomorrow, Go Green!
