Get back!

With 8:50 left in the second quarter, OU's sideline was flagged for obstruction, a 15-yard penalty. The penalty turned a second-and-22 from the OU four-yard line into a second-and-seven from the 19 for OSU's offense. However, OSU was forced to punt two plays later. The penalty was apparently called on Sooner coaches.

The 2005 NCAA Football Rules and Interpretations lists the word obstruction on only four pages: 27, 117, 136, and 149. The first page is about markers and obstructions on or near the field; the last one is in the index. The other two list "obstruction" as a synonym for "holding," and show the signals that are identical to those for holding or illegal use of the hands or arms.

In all cases, the penalty is ten yards, not 15. There is no 15 yard penalty for holding, obstruction, or anything like it. There is no possibility that the coaches for any team could have been holding or obstructing a player.

So is the Oklahoman full of crap, or did the official invent a new penalty? Let's go to the TiVo!

First, the penalty was with 9:00 left in the second quarter, not 8:50. The incident in question happened at 3:39 CT, give or take 30 seconds. Second, the official clearly did say "obstruction" and penalize OU 15 yards, but he went on to say "obstruction of the sideline." That's a different story - coaches and other people who are not playing at present can't be on the large white sideline, even in places like Owen Field where the sideline space is quite limited by modern standards. However, NCAA Football rule 9-1-5-b very clearly indicates how this restriction is to be enforced:

ARTICLE 5. a. While the ball is in play, coaches, substitutes and authorized attendants in the team area may not be between the sideline and coaching line.

b. The procedure for enforcement of Rule 9-1-5-a is as follows:

1. Any game official may stop the clock to give a sideline warning [S15].
2. The head coach is informed by a game official that he is receiving a first or second warning because the area between the sideline and coaching line has been violated by coaches, players or persons authorized in the team area.
3. Each official will record the time and period of each warning.
4. After a second warning, a game official will notify the head coach that he has had two warnings and that the next infraction will result in a five-yard penalty.
5. After a five-yard penalty, a game official will notify the head coach that he has had two warnings and a five-yard penalty, and will receive a 15-yard penalty for the next infraction.

PENALTY—Penalize as a dead-ball foul. Five yards from the succeeding spot after two official warnings from a game official and 15 yards from the succeeding spot for each additional foul [S7 and S29].

OU's coaches were livid because they had not received any sideline warnings, much less two of them and a five-yard penalty. The Big XII officials, in their typical incompetence, skipped directly to the penalty for the fourth offense for the first noticed sideline infraction. The ABC commentators helpfully noted that OU got "a couple of sideline warnings during the Texas A&M game," but the warnings start over with each game, not each season.

"[S7 and S29]", by the way, refer to the official signals of NCAA officiating, starting on page FR-139 (absolute page 141) of 2005 NCAA Football Rules. Signal 7 is the right arm raised straight up for "dead ball foul." Signal 29 is both hands behind the official in the small of his back, for "sideline interference." The diagram shows S29 with the referee's back facing the camera, but most referees today don't turn around for such signals (the other behind-the-back signal is the more common "illegal forward pass" motion).

So I should have suspected: both the paper and the officials were wrong, but the Oklahoman was closer to correct than the officiating crew was. The incident happened earlier than the paper reported, but the official got both the name of the penalty ("sideline interference", not "obstruction") and the first-offense penalty wrong.

Remember, if that referee makes that mistake every game, someone at the Big XII office might speak to him in a stern tone of voice, so he'd better shape up.