Replay official did not know the rule

ESPN reported that Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany said a replay official mistakenly awarded Michigan a touchdown during its game against Michigan State on Oct. 25, 2008.

"You can understand a mistake of judgment on the field, and you can even understand possibly not getting the standard right because we want indisputable video evidence that a play is wrong. But to apply the wrong rule to a situation is not acceptable to me."

The bottom line is the reply official did not know the rule that an airborne player who touches a pylon is considered out of bounds.

Here is an interesting posting found on the ESPN message board:

"Apparently the replay official was Dick Honig, a 1963 U of M graduate who coached at U of M for ten years and has kept his association with U of M alive all of these years. This was reported today in the Detroit Free Press on their web site. No wonder he made up a new rule."

Source: ESPN.com