Before it became an inexplicable epidemic, plaguing would-be touchdown scorers across the land, Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez already had a rule in place.
He calls it the “Kansas City Rule,” because he heard about the Chiefs doing it several years back.
The rule makes it mandatory for ball-carriers to hand the ball to the nearest official at the end of a play. In theory, it should make it impossible for any Wildcat to drop the ball before crossing the goal line — as has happened several times already this season.
“We just made that point of emphasis again,” Rodriguez said. “It’s an unfortunate thing. That thing will be rerun for years. That thing will be on those guys’ résumés forever. You hate to have that cost you a ballgame. I’m sure every coach is bringing that up.”
Cal’s Sonny Dykes went a step further, with good reason. After the Golden Bears’ Vic Enwere dropped the ball outside the goal line last Saturday against Texas, nearly costing the Bears in their upset of the Longhorns, Dykes issued an edict: Players are to hand the ball “directly to an official” after scoring a touchdown.
Incredibly, Enwere’s blunder marked the third time it has happened this season. The other culprits: Clemson’s Ray-Ray McCloud and Oklahoma’s Joe Mixon.
The officials did not catch Mixon’s foible, even though it’s a reviewable play and he clearly hadn’t crossed the goal line before starting to celebrate.
“It’s really a strange phenomenon,” Dykes said, per USA Today. “I don’t understand it. But I can assure you it won’t ever happen to us again. We’ll get it fixed.”
Arizona’s Tyrell Johnson followed Rodriguez’s rule after scoring on a 24-yard touchdown run against Hawaii. He flipped the ball to an official standing near the back of the end zone.
“Of course, always,” Johnson said. “That’s our No. 1 rule here. If we don’t give it to them, we probably get punished.”
As Rodriguez said last week about a different matter, there ain’t no probably to that.
