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NCAA instructs officials to more strictly enforce slide rule after Kenny Pickett fake slides to TD

jack baer
Staff writer
·3-min read

Kenny Pickett delivered one the wildest highlights of last weekend's conference championship games, but the NCAA didn't seem to like what it saw.

The Pitt quarterback and Heisman candidate lit social media ablaze early in the first quarter of Saturday's ACC Championship when he scrambled out of the pocket and ran upfield. A group of Wake Forest defenders appeared to have him corralled well before the end zone, but then Pickett did something tricky.

Pickett shifted his body weight just enough to make his would-be tackles think he was sliding, then quickly regained his momentum and kept running for a 58-yard touchdown.

It was a big play, and unquestionably a fun play, but it left many wondering, should it have been a legal play?

NCAA: No more Kenny Pickett fake slides

The NCAA delivered its answer on Thursday via national coordinator of football officials Steve Shaw, who said in a bulletin that plays like Pickett's run should be blown dead as soon as the runner starts indicating a slide.

The nitty-gritty of the ruling:

Play #1: 3/10 @ B-40. QB A12 takes the snap and rolls out to the right. Finding no receiver open, A12 turns up field and runs. After making the line to gain, A12 breaks stride as if he is going to slide feet first at the B-27, stays upright and runs for a touchdown.

RULING: The live ball becomes dead at the point where A12 simulates or fakes as if he will begin a feet-first slide. An official shall sound their whistle and declare the ball dead. Team A will have 1/10 @ B-27.

Any time a ball carrier begins, simulates, or fakes a feet-first slide, the ball should be declared dead by the on field officials at that point. The intent of the rule is player safety, and the objective is to give a ball carrier an option to end the play by sliding feet first and to avoid contact. To allow the ball carrier to fake a slide would compromise the defense that is being instructed to let up when the ball carrier slides feet first. A fake slide will not be considered reviewable under Rule 12-3-3 – Dead Ball and Loose Ball.

Basically, the NCAA is telling its officials to call any would-be Pickett copycats down if they fake a slide, under its rule saying a ball carrier is down when he "obviously begins a feet-first slide."

It's a ruling that makes sense, because the whole point of calling a ball carrier down as soon as he starts sliding is player safety. The defense shouldn't have any doubt a player is down once it looks like he's given himself up, otherwise you're asking for a lot of flags and potential injuries. Of course, it could be argued that Wake Forest's defenders gave up way more quickly than they should have.

Fortunately for everyone's peace of mind, the game ended up not really hinging on the touchdown. Pitt would eventually win by a convincing score of 45-21, with Pickett going 20-of-33 with 253 passing yards and two touchdowns through the air.

Pickett himself acknowledged the controversy during an appearance on The Dan Patrick Show on Wednesday, opining that he didn't see the move as cheating, but expected a change to come soon:

"People are saying I cheated, I think that's a little ridiculous. There's no rule for it. There's guys that fake running out of bounds and all that stuff, and I've never done that. I couldn't even tell you what I was thinking, I just went out there and did it. I guarantee with how much publicity it's getting, I'm sure there will be a rule this year."