what was the situation at Auburn vs Ole Miss that many say Ole Miss won the game?

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Kickoff that should be called a turnover

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Are Auburn boosters paying officials or what?

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which would have put the game completely away for Ole Miss.

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I will always maintain that Auburn can get fricked for the rest of eternity.

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NCAA rule book:Section 7. Responsibility and Impetus
Initial Impetus—ARTICLE 2
Approved Ruling 8-7-2
I. Ball carrier A1, advancing toward Team B’s goal line, fumbles when B1
bats the ball from his hand or tackles him from the rear. In either case, A1
loses possession short of the goal line, and the ball goes into Team B’s end
zone, where Team B recovers. RULING: Touchback. Impetus is charged
to the fumble by Team A (Rule 8-6-1-a).
II. Any kick by Team A strikes the ground and a Team B player bats the ball
across Team B’s goal line, where Team B recovers it while grounded or it
goes out of bounds. RULING: New impetus is given by Team B. Safety,
two points for Team A. Batting the kick is considered to have destroyed
the impetus of the kick and imparted a new impetus. However, merely
touching or deflecting the kick, or being struck by it, does not destroy the
impetus of the kick (Rule 8-5-1-a).



A friend of mine who officiates NCAA football cited to me the above section. He gave me the following explanation and how he would have ruled on the play.

For it to have remained a live ball after crossing the goal line , Shivers had to possess and then fumble the ball or batted the ball. Both would have changed the impetus of the kick. The mere grazing or inadvertent contact with the ball would not automatically change the impetus of the ball but COULD be a judgment call and reviewed unless an official ruled the play a touchback and dead. He further stated that once the official blew the play dead after it crossed the goal line, it could not be reviewed because the play was ruled a touchback. In his opinion, the impetus of the ball never changed even after contact with Shiver's pinky so the moment the ball crossed the goal line, it was an AUTOMATIC touchback. Prior to the rule changes, the receiver had to field the ball in the end zone because a ball beyond 10-yards was considered live. The changes were made for player-safety. He added that the official likely did not see Shivers make contact with the ball, which is why he blew it dead once the ball rolled past the goal line. Had he saw any contact with the ball, he would have allowed the play to carry on until a recovery was made or the ball rolled out of the field of play. A review would be warranted to determine if Shivers did indeed change the impetus of the ball. If they felt the impetus would have taken the ball into the end zone, it would be ruled a touch back because it was no longer a live ball once it crossed the goal line. If they ruled he did change the impetus it would be a live ball and a TD would have been awarded to Ole Miss if they recovered it in the end zone.

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Not going to debate it because I am not a collegiate official. Just reporting what a collegiate official told me. According to him, the rule I cited would apply to the Ole Miss game. Again, he said Shivers never possessed the ball so it was not a fumble. You are correct that "batting" would not apply because Shivers did not bat the ball. If they had reviewed the play and saw that Shivers made contact with the ball, they would have to decide whether or not Shivers contact changed the impetus of the ball. If they ruled the impetus was not changed, the ruling would be a touch back because the play would have been dead, the moment the ball crossed the goal line. If they ruled that Shivers did change the impetus of the ball, it would have remained a live ball and could have been recovered for a TD by Ole Miss. In his opinion, the impetus did not change, thus he would have ruled the play a touch back.

Regardless of the rules, Shivers was clearly in position to recover the ball had the official not blown the whistle.

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