One thing we are not used to saying is that the NCAA finally got something right and in record time.
The NCAA Rules Committee has banned the “fake slide” just days after Pitt quarterback Kenny Pickett used it en route to a 58-yard rushing touchdown in the ACC Championship Game.
Former NFL referee and current NBC Sunday Night Football rules expert Terry McAulay relayed the new rule:
Pickett’s run gave Pitt an early 6-0 lead en route to a 45-21 win over Wake Forest.
After the game, numerous critics blasted Pickett for the move that would ultimately get quarterbacks hurt as defenders would stop letting up and tackle them hard to make sure they wouldn’t dare to fake slide again.
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Doug Farrar of USA Today notably wrote the following:
“It was a smart but ultimately bogus move by Pickett—he exploited the absence of the rule against a fake slide, and in doing so, also exploited the hesitancy of defenders at any level, trying to avoid any unnecessary roughness calls when interacting physically with a quarterback. If the quarterback looks like he’s giving himself up, the defender is bound by rule to respect that and hold up, so for Pickett or any other quarterback to stick his nose in that circumstance? As I said, smart, but ultimately bogus.”
Pickett won’t be able to use the fake slide in the Peach Bowl, which will see the Panthers take on No. 11 Michigan State on Dec. 30th.
