Putting aside the fact that it never should have come to this, what is the actual rule regarding the start of the clock? I came across this, but I don't know: http://www.tigerdroppings.com/rant/lsu-score-board/here-is-the-rule-lsu-won/65631185/. I'm spending way too much time obsessing about this crap...
That poster is wrong. There was no 10 second run off. The prior play just ended with 1 second left. In other words, the 10-second run off is irrelevant.
So the play should've started on the snap and not the ref's signal? Great, not like we ever get hosed at Jordan-Hare. We should forward this info to the SEC offices. I'm sure they'll get right on it.
But, if the rule he posted is right, then because there was no 10 sec runoff, the next play should have started on the snap of the ball, not the refs signal.
They explained on the radio show why there was no run off. Made sense as to why it wasn't called. It has to be a stop play foul on the offense for the 10 second run off.
For those who are interested in reading the whole thing: http://ruletool.info/headline/rule-3-periods-time-factors-and-substitutions/ This actually seems accurate.
The way I understand it is the clock always starts on the refs whistle unless a defensive foul, out of bounds, or timeout. It will always start on an offensive penalty on the refs whistle
