# That "interception" in the Alabama-LSU game **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [November 7, 2011, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-interception-in-the-alabama-lsu-game/602116 "2011-11-07T00:06:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-interception-in-the-alabama-lsu-game/602116/1 "2011-11-07T00:06:55Z")
At least I **think** it was the Alabama-LSU game. We watched so much football yesterday, I’m losing track. Do you know which play I mean? It looked to me like the Alabama player caught the ball, but the ball was taken away from him by the LSU player as they went down. The ball was clearly in the Bama player’s hands first, but the LSU guy came up with it. Bama caught it first, LSU caught it second? Last guy wins? Why was that an interception and not a fumble/recovery? In basketball, it’d be a jump ball. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-interception-in-the-alabama-lsu-game/602116/2 "2011-11-07T00:12:32Z")
I didn’t see the specific play, but if the first player has control of it, but then loses control, it’s a fumble. If the first player contacts the ball but never has control of it, and then the second player takes control of it without it hitting the ground, that’s a reception by the second player (possibly an interception, if the second player is on the other team from the team that threw it). If the first player contacts the ball but does not have control, and the ball then hits the ground, then the pass is incomplete, the play is over, and whatever happens after the ball hit the ground is irrelevant. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-interception-in-the-alabama-lsu-game/602116/3 "2011-11-07T00:20:59Z")
The Alabama player never had full control over the ball, you could see it coming out of his hands as he was going down. Since he didn’t have possession of it in the first place, it can’t be a fumble. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-interception-in-the-alabama-lsu-game/602116/4 "2011-11-07T01:10:06Z")
Thanks, both of you. [This video](http://bleacherreport.com/articles/927016-lsu-vs-alabama-video-watch-the-int-that-helped-save-lsus-season) seems to show that the Alabama player didn’t have control of the ball. The video has a better view than what I saw yesterday. Guess it’s time for a better TV. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![divemaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/divemaster/32/78_2.png) [@divemaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/divemaster)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-interception-in-the-alabama-lsu-game/602116/5 "2011-11-07T01:15:27Z")
I posted this in another thread, but basically it comes down to this: to complete a catch you have to maintain control of the ball through the catch. It’s hard to show control of the ball when it’s resting in the arms of the defender. Ergo, the receiver had not secured the ball. It was very close, however, and if the call had gone the other way, the officials may not have overturned it.