Georgia-Alabama title game head ref admits big mistake made: ‘We had a miss’
By Mark Heim | mheim@al.com
Let’s start by saying there’s nothing that will come from the admission.
Still, it is refreshing to hear an official admit a mistake was made.
Over the weekend, Dan Capron - who retired as a Big Ten referee - sat down with The Chicago Tribune to talk about his 20 years as an official. He discussed high-profile games, working with coaches like Urban Meyer, Jim Harbaugh and Bo Pelini.
Among the topics touched on, Capron worked the Georgia-Alabama national championship game to end the 2017 season. He said the officials got it wrong in the Tide’s 26-23 overtime win against the Bulldogs.
“We had a miss,” Capron told The Chicago Tribune. "Alabama was on the ropes. They were deep in their own territory and they’re punting. The punt gets blocked. There’s a flag on the ground because the line judge had Georgia offside. Oh, boy. He (Tyler Simmons) actually had a running start and timed it. He wasn’t offside.
“But that wasn’t my call. The blocking backs, a split-second before the snap, moved. That was a false start. That should have been my call. It still wouldn’t have been a blocked punt but instead a 5-yard penalty against the offense. You never want to make a mistake of any kind in such a high-profile atmosphere.”
Here’s the play.
Georgia was leading 13-0 in the third quarter and it was the Dawgs’ game to lose.
As you may recall, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa capped a second-half comeback with a 41-yard touchdown pass in overtime to fellow freshman DeVonta Smith in the 26-23 win over Georgia to give the Tide a fifth national championship in nine years.
By Mark Heim | mheim@al.com
Let’s start by saying there’s nothing that will come from the admission.
Still, it is refreshing to hear an official admit a mistake was made.
Over the weekend, Dan Capron - who retired as a Big Ten referee - sat down with The Chicago Tribune to talk about his 20 years as an official. He discussed high-profile games, working with coaches like Urban Meyer, Jim Harbaugh and Bo Pelini.
Among the topics touched on, Capron worked the Georgia-Alabama national championship game to end the 2017 season. He said the officials got it wrong in the Tide’s 26-23 overtime win against the Bulldogs.
“We had a miss,” Capron told The Chicago Tribune. "Alabama was on the ropes. They were deep in their own territory and they’re punting. The punt gets blocked. There’s a flag on the ground because the line judge had Georgia offside. Oh, boy. He (Tyler Simmons) actually had a running start and timed it. He wasn’t offside.
“But that wasn’t my call. The blocking backs, a split-second before the snap, moved. That was a false start. That should have been my call. It still wouldn’t have been a blocked punt but instead a 5-yard penalty against the offense. You never want to make a mistake of any kind in such a high-profile atmosphere.”
Here’s the play.
Georgia was leading 13-0 in the third quarter and it was the Dawgs’ game to lose.
As you may recall, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa capped a second-half comeback with a 41-yard touchdown pass in overtime to fellow freshman DeVonta Smith in the 26-23 win over Georgia to give the Tide a fifth national championship in nine years.
