Okay, here’s the setup. One of my favorite old games. October 27, 1984. WVU hasn’t beaten Penn State in almost 30 years. We’ve got them at home and they are ripe for the plucking.
WVU is up 17-14, very late in the game with Penn State driving deep into WVU territory. Trying to throw over the middle to get into FG range, Penn State is PICKED PICKED OFF! by a WVU DB who returns the ball all the way back to the Penn State 30. :45 seconds left. One Penn State Timeout.
But the fans MOB the field and tear down the north goal post. It’s an incredible scene of debauchery. Realizing that there is still time on the clock, WVU players try to clear the field to no avail. For every fan who leaves, 10 more rush the field and keep tearing the goal posts.
Now, with 45 seconds left, WVU ball at the Penn State 30, and Penn State with one timeout, all WVU needs is, at most, 3 kneel downs and the game is over. But there is that 1/10000 chance of a botched handoff.
What happens is a great piece of sportsmanship by Joe Paterno as he concedes the game to WVU and leaves the riot that is surrounding him. We win!
Questions:
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What if Paterno had decided to hell with this, I want to play the last 45 seconds? What then? A forfeit? Reschedule the game?
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What if the clock situation was more favorable? Say 2:12 left with 3 Penn State timeouts, but the drunken rioting fans are too blind drunk to read the scoreboard and Paterno insists? A forfeit? Reschedule the game?
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Is there a rule that allows a coach to concede and still have it go down as a regular game? I realize a coach could forfeit, but after Paterno told the officials, they simply ran the clock to zero. If I’m an official, can I say that I’m not running that clock until the ball is snapped?
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What if it was even more ridiculous? What if WVU was up 82-0 with 11 seconds left, no Penn State timeouts, and the fans prematurely celebrated? A forfeit? Reschedule the last 11 seconds?
Thanks…