NBC officiating expert calls out how Bryce Young, Alabama have ‘unfair advantage’ vs. Cincinnati
Former NFL official and NBC “Sunday Night Football” rules expert Terry McAulay is keeping a close eye on the College Football Playoff semifinal between Alabama and Cincinnati.
The Crimson Tide have dominated the Bearcats through 1 half of play as running back Brian Robinson Jr. gained more yards on offense than the entire Cincinnati team. That, in part, allowed Nick Saban’s team to go into the locker room with a 17-3 advantage.
But McAulay feels that the Tide may be benefiting from the actions of Bryce Young, specifically his motions prior to the snap of the football. McAulay thinks that the Young has gotten away with several false starts as a result, as you can see from his 2 tweets below:
The defense is penalized when the offense uses the clap to call for the snap and the defense interferes by clapping. So, the QB should not be allowed to clap unless the ball is snapped. It simulates action at the snap and should be a false start. #StartThePlayFair
— Terry McAulay (@SNFRules) December 31, 2021
Here's the rule regarding the QB and false starts. The Alabama QB has done this several times. CFB is far too lenient with QB's in shotgun. Yet another unfair advantage for the offense. pic.twitter.com/UqekUV3Tsi
— Terry McAulay (@SNFRules) December 31, 2021
We’ll have to see if the officiating crew cracks down on this during the 2nd half. In Young’s defense, he’s not the only player that does it, but perhaps McAulay has a point.
For Cincinnati’s part, though, it has much more pressing matters to worry about as its run defense has done little to stop Brian Robinson Jr. And the Tide’s reliance on the run likely won’t change in the 2nd half.