As Duke was pulling away from Clemson in Monday night’s season opener, a last-ditch effort from the Tigers came to a halt and it put an unusual rule into the spotlight.
Trailing 21-7 roughly halfway through the fourth quarter, Clemson faced a fourth-and-seven from just across midfield. Quarterback Cade Klubnik attempted to pick up the first down but went into a slide and was ruled short. It seemed, though, that Clemson would get the first down anyway, as Duke linebacker Cam Dillon was penalized for targeting. But that was not the case.
Dillon’s targeting foul was reviewed and upheld. But since Klubnik went into a feet first baseball slide, the ball was ruled down as soon as his slide began. Therefore, Dillon’s targeting was called a dead-ball foul. Since the dead-ball foul happened after the fourth down run was ruled short, the Blue Devils were assessed a 15-yard penalty but kept the ball.
"The fact that that's considered a dead-ball penalty, you're actually costing the team that was targeted. You're rewarding the hit, not deliberately, but by calling that a dead-ball foul, you're rewarding the defense when that should be a first down for Clemson." pic.twitter.com/iJqtnV9f5J
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 5, 2023
College football fans had a mixed reaction to both the rule and the ruling.
Lack of knowledge of the rules. Play is dead the moment he slides short of the sticks. Turnover on downs. Penalty is dead ball foul because of the turnover. https://t.co/AAIiKlSS3q
— Cam Worrell (@CamWorrell) September 5, 2023
I'd be shocked if the rule isn't reviewed and changed this week. https://t.co/xcn3iKp6IL
— #DoomSayer (@MrBill11) September 5, 2023
Legitimately might be the first time we’ve said “well shit… could really go for a rules analyst here” https://t.co/kzXeglM8ZS
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 5, 2023
I've never seen a dead ball roughness call on a play like this. Clemson should've had a first down instead of a turnover on downs.
Duke was able to run almost 3 minutes of the clock and flip the field with a punt because of the call. pic.twitter.com/Zjhisbgzqf
— Ian Valentino (@NFLDraftStudy) September 5, 2023
One of the confusing elements of this rule is that there is a special provision for fourth downs. If everything about this play was identical except it happened on third down, Clemson would get the benefit of 15 yards and a fresh set of downs. Heck, it would even be a first down if Klubnik slid more than 15 yards short of the marker. But fourth down is different.
A similar penalty occurs when an offensive player is flagged for a 15-yard dead-ball foul. In every case, the offensive team will be penalized 15 yards. But if the foul happens after a first down, it will still be first-and-10. If the player is one yard short of a first down, it will be 15 yards and second-and-16 (or third/fourth-and 16).
This is certainly an unusual rule and it’s not likely to come up many more times in the season. But if it does, we’ll know what to expect.
[Photo Credit: ESPN]
