YouTube of the call

[CarolinaTiger 0]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sg3fYyn8ifs

gotta say it looks different this AM than it did last night

[DKW 86 7,426]

Still think he was trying to pull the ball down, the arc of the ball was DOWNWARD.

[Bottomfeeder 244]

Still think he was trying to pull the ball down, the arc of the ball was DOWNWARD.

He was trying to pull back the ball.

[AFTiger 282]

He was definitely trying to abort the pass. Had it been ruled that his arm was in motion, would it have been intentional grounding?

[JustaFan 0]

His arm was clearly going forward and he was clearly attempting to hold up and the ball slipped from his hand. THIS IS CALLED A FUMBLE!!

[TexasTiger 12,947]

Still think he was trying to pull the ball down, the arc of the ball was DOWNWARD.

Definitely. You can't claim "he was in the motion" when he trying not to throw the ball.

[rexbo 104]

If he was throwing it, why would he be throwing to Blackmon, he was wearing a blue jersey? He was pulling the ball down because Blackmon was in his face...

[mcgufcm 4,101]

if it's a pass, yes it is grounding. the important thing to note is that there is no tuck rule in college football. see the tom brady rule in the nfl, makes this a pass. i know i won't get the interpretation exactly right, but it basically says that as long as the arm is in motion, you still count it as a pass until the motion is finished, even if he's pulling it in at the time.

leak didn't intend to throw the ball. he was trying to pull it back, which in college, as i understand it, means that he wasn't throwing it. no tuck rule in college to bail him out. leak fumbled.

[aucanucktiger 1,794]

"if it's a pass, yes it is grounding. the important thing to note is that there is no tuck rule in college football. see the tom brady rule in the nfl, makes this a pass. i know i won't get the interpretation exactly right, but it basically says that as long as the arm is in motion, you still count it as a pass until the motion is finished, even if he's pulling it in at the time.

leak didn't intend to throw the ball. he was trying to pull it back, which in college, as i understand it, means that he wasn't throwing it. no tuck rule in college to bail him out. leak fumbled".

If it's ruled a pass (which it wasn't on the field in this instance), it's up to the refs (@ any level) to determine intent of the passer for intentional grounding to apply. If the refs believe the ball slipped out of his hand accidentally, there cannot be any intentional grounding (which again requires intent..."intentional" grounding).

Now looking @ this replay I'm so glad so many Gators (and so may of us for that matter) find a "clear" call one way or the other. The only thing clear in that replay to me is that the call on the field was that a fumble occured (that's why on the replay you can see the white hat throw his white beanbag during the play @ the spot of the fumble). Therefore (as we all know by now) the evidence to overturn the call on the field must also be clear. That's not going to happen (to an objective viewer) on any of those replays, they just do not CLEARLY show whether it was a fumble or a pass. Again, it's a fumble by rule because that's what the ref called during the play and after replay it's still a fumble because there's nothing to clearly overturn it.

End of story, move on to Georgia Gators.

[AUloggerhead 2,238]

Fumble. Leak had no one to pass to except Tray Blackmon. That's why he tried to stop his passing motion and failed. Good judgement call by the refs -- both on the field and in the replay booth.

[Tigermike 3,034]

Winners rejoice and losers whine!

If Leak had not tried to pull back, he would have thrown a perfect pass to Blackmon and then he would have scored a TD instead of having to scoop it up and run for 30 - 40 yards.

BTW - The Florida fans were glad to accept the BS unnecessary roughness personal foul call for the hit "out of bounds". Where the AU defender had wrapped up the ball carrier IN BOUNDS, then finished off the tackle two yards out of bounds. When you are making a tackle like that, you can't just stop at the sideline.

Again I say, Winners rejoice and losers whine!

[jaydubb121 22]

if you freeze that video at :22 it looks pretty clear that blackmon makes contact with the ball.

[KunzelTiger 0]

They are also forgetting they had a punt blocked in their face for a touchdown and they had a holding call in the end zone for a safety...

Sorry boys but you can't complain about the refs blowing games when you are giving the opponents points like that...

[CarolinaTiger 0]

i've also read over on the gator boards that IF it had been ruled a pass, there wouldn't be intentional grounding because blackmon batted down the pass.

alas, he fumbled.

ct

[edgecy 3]

After watching the replay over and over again, I still think he was attempting a pass. Oh well, maybe that's why I am not a ref. At the end of the day, 27-17 still stands

[OKieAuburnDoug 1]

they got dominated either way..`throw' happened because he was trying to pull it back in..

[TheDrewYouKnew 3]

Pretty clear that it was a fumble, but why the need to make such a big deal out of that one call?

[CircleDrill 178]

Boo hoo. Don't even try it. I Tivo'd the game on ESPN. I watch this play and all the slow-mo replays they showed of it many, many times this morning. He pumped that ball and decided to hold because he saw a blitzer with hands up. He lost the ball at the full extension of his arm, yes. But it was not a pass.

And guess what??? For all you criers... If it WAS a pass, it still would have been intentional grounding. That play DID NOT lose the game for Florida. The blocked punt in the 3rd is where they lost. For the whole second half we had the upper hand. I won't say "dominated," but we definitely were in control of the game.

But, nevertheless, there are plenty of people on the internet that will ignore the game and focus on one play, which didn't make any difference anyway.

[AUloggerhead 2,238]

"After review, the ruling on the field stands. First down, Auburn!"

[jetermary 6]

His arm was clearly going forward and he was clearly attempting to hold up and the ball slipped from his hand. THIS IS CALLED A FUMBLE!!

That is exactly what I saw. Was he trying to throw it two inches? It fell out of his hand. It was a definite fumble!

[aubrandon 5]

The call was correct. He tried to stop the pass and pull his arm back. That's when Blackmon made contact with the ball. That's exactly what ESPN was reporting about what the officals said after the game.

[keoson7 28]

When Tray Blackmon makes a play, the play stands!

[aumd03 2]

I've got an idea. Recruit a TE thats not a big pansy and can block a small linebacker without getting knocked on his butt.

I'll tell you what, I've freeze framed it on my HD tv several times from the best view and its all just a blur. It looks to me that the ball is in leaks fingertips as blackmon swats it away. If he does throw it, he's throwing it at casey's feet. and you can watch his eyes and realize he's not focusing on the reciever but the linebacker thats completely filling his view. Either way, you could still call it a backwards pass. Either way a fumble.

[aumd03 2]

I hate to double post, but i meant to add something to my post.

People talk about us being lucky and all the calls going our way. I think luck is created. Our guys have been making plays to the point that they are questionable. We made catches when we needed, our defense showed up when we needed. Florida had chances and didn't capitolize, same with LSU. If Brock doesn't make a play and tip that ball, there's no question on the PI, if Blackmon doesn't make a play, there's no question about a fumble. I think our guys deserve some respect for making plays.

[Tiger D 0]

Does it really matter...if it is a fumble, like it was called or if the QB tossed it to the ground...we get it both ways, and its not like we scored from the turnover. The block punt is what turned the game. War Eagle!!!!!!