Mississippi State in trouble vs. Georgia Tech, very lucky this wasn’t a fumble
Well, sure, it was a fumble. But it wasn’t a “fumble” fumble.
Via ESPN
That play was ruled not a fumble by Mississippi State. Officials said after the play that forward progress had already ended the play before the ball came out of Josh Robinson’s hands.
While replays showed that the whistle didn’t blow until after the ball had already been recovered, the whistle isn’t the only thing that matters. The play’s dead when the officials decide it’s dead; the whistle just signals to players that it has become so.
And, yeah, if you’ve seen Robinson run before, then you know the play’s almost never actually dead. So that fumble probably could’ve counted.
MSU would be in huge trouble if the fumble -- which was very close to counting! -- had counted. The Jackets led, 14-0, at the time and would’ve had a short field. As it was, MSU drove down the field and put a field goal on the board.
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