Many college football fans are blaming the officiating crew that flagged Kansas State’s Adrian Hilburn when he saluted the crowd following a touchdown in their game against Syracuse.
With Syracuse leading 36-28, Hilburn caught a pass from Carson Coffman, broke a tackle and raced 30 yards for a touchdown with 1:13 left to play that pulled the Wildcats within a 2-point conversion to tie the game.
But the Big Ten officials working the game flagged Hilburn for unsportsmanlike conduct after he saluted the crowd.
Instead of Kansas State trying for two points from the three yard line, the Wildcats had to attempt the conversion from the 18.
Big Ten referee Todd Geerlings said both the head linesman and the back judge threw flags for excessive celebration – rule 9-1-1d – because Hilburn was drawing attention to himself.
On the two-point attempt, Coffman’s pass fell incomplete. On the ensuing kickoff, Kansas State attempted an onside kick, but the ball failed to travel 10 yards and Syracuse ran out the clock for the win.
Before anyone points a finger at the officials, let’s be clear that the penalty didn’t cost Kansas State the game.
It definitely cost the Wildcats a better chance to tie the game, but there was no guarantee Kansas State would have converted the 2-point attempt from the normal spot.
Even if Kansas State had tied the score, there was still no guarantee they would have won the game.
All that being said, I don’t agree with the penalty.
Yes, Hilburn was guilty of violating the rule, but how many times have we seen a player make a gesture to the crowd throughout the course of the season where the officials didn’t throw the flag.
In a close game, the officials need to be invisible unless the penalty is egregious.
In Hilburn’s case, the officials should have let it go and allow the players to settle the game on the field.
