James Madison head football coach Curt Cignetti was trying to do the right thing during Saturday’s game against Utah State, but he ended up completely embarrassing the college football officiating crew. Even if the humiliation was warranted, the way in which it happened is very much not allowed.
It involved a cellphone and a broadcast replay.
The Aggies ran a fake field goal on 4th-and-4 during the second quarter. Kicker Elliott Nimrod took a pitch to the outside and went 25 yards past the Dukes defense for a touchdown.
However, the six points should not have counted. Nimrod stepped out of bounds at the 11-yard-line.
His left foot crossed over his body and very clearly stepped on the sideline. He definitely got the first down. Just not the touchdown. The officials should have blown the play dead. They didn’t.
Referees often get calls wrong. Human error is a thing. It happens!
Upon further review, though, the points should have come off of the board. Nimrod could not stay in bounds.
As the officials deliberated after the play, an assistant coach brought his phone over to Cignetti. On the screen was an image that showed Nimrod’s foot on the white line.
Cignetti snatched the phone form his staffer. He turned it back around on the head referee to plead his case for the call to be overturned.
That is against the rules. Outside technology is not allowed on the sideline. Cignetti is sorry.
In the heat of the moment, someone sticks a phone in my hand and says this shows it. You’re not allowed to have that on the sideline. I was just so immersed in the situation. I shouldn’t have done that.
— Curt Cignetti during a press conference on Monday
Although Cignetti apologized for his actions, there might have been a very different discourse if the game had gone the other way. James Madison hung on to win, so the no-call on Nimrod’s fake field goal was ultimately unimportant. If the script was flipped, the touchdown that should not have counted would have been the difference.