Saturday night, the internet was worked into a frenzy when Jameis Winston bumped an official as he tried to get under center to run a play. He was not flagged.
As Winston saw that Boston College had finished its substitution, he tried to get under the center and run the play as quickly as possible -- a play that was a bit of a trick play and something that needed to be snapped quickly, he was stopped from doing so by center judge Michael Webster. Winston and Webster jockeyed for position, until Webster was satisfied that the Eagles had indeed finished their substitution, and backed away, allowing Winston to run the play.
Note:The normal technique is for the official to stand over the ball to hold up play. However, the ACC is one of the leagues experimenting with using eight officials instead of seven, and the ACC's new method for holding up play is for the official to stand behind the center, as Webster did Saturday.
The ACC's official statement on the matter echoes this.
"The center judge's positioning, which was due to the experimental year of having an eighth official, combined with the late substitution and by rule the need to allow the defense to matchup, led to contact between himself and the player. The official believed the contact was incidental and insignificant and did not rise to the level of unsportsmanlike conduct and automatic disqualification."
This experimental positioning was something that Winston had not previously encountered.
"It's quick-tempo play," Jimbo Fisher said. "And (Winston) had never had a guy do that before. He's never had an official be there before. He's always standing over the ball. I know that sounds crazy, but it's the truth. He's trying to step around and get in front. He didn't push.
"You can see him. He's trying to get his shoulder in and get in there and get the ball. And it had never happened to us before. ... And he meant no ill-will. And I thought the official did a tremendous job and I'm not saying it because he's Jameis. He wasn't trying to push." -- Corey Clark, Tallahassee Democrat 11/24
Still, Winston did contact an official, and many wanted to know why was wasn't flagged. Though the league said that the contact was incidental and insignificant," as it turns out, what was said by Winston to the official had a lot to do with him avoiding a penalty.
Two sources with knowledge of the situation provided the details.
"Excuse me, sir. Excuse me, sir!," is what they claim Winston said as he tried to get under center.
This might explain why the official being bumped, who is presumably in the best position to assess a foul, did not.