NC State's attempt to catch Notre Dame offside turns into pick-six
NC State center Garrett Bradbury’s attempt to trap Notre Dame offside was a novel idea. But it backfired spectacularly.
Bradbury snapped the ball as a Notre Dame player tried to anticipate the third down snap count with the goal of getting a five-yard penalty. But no Notre Dame player was offside when the ball was snapped.
And since Bradbury snapped the ball early, the entire NC State line stayed in their positions. Again, with the goal of catching Notre Dame offside.
But since Notre Dame wasn’t offside, the play went on. And as Ryan Finley scrambled away from oncoming defenders, he threw an interception to Irish defensive back Julian Love, who returned the pass 69 yards for a touchdown.
This is how close it was at the time of the snap. It looks from this angle that no flag was the right call.
The pass also broke an exceptional streak of Finley’s in about the worst possible way. Before that play, Finley had gone 339 passes without throwing an interception. His most recent pick was Nov. 19, 2016 against Miami.
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of Dr. Saturday and From the Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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