Until a ref threw a flag for "Illegal Stemming," that is.
The UL-L field goal unit had earlier been called for a false start, but this time the penalty was on a San Diego State defensive lineman. As a former offensive lineman, I was amazed that the refs actually made the right call here; due to the internet's swarming with questions about the penalty this morning, I thought I would clarify.
"Stemming" is a commonly used term for offensive and defensive linemen to describe a d-lineman's pre-snap movement. Many defenses will attempt to disguise their front in order to confuse offensive linemen so that a defender comes through unblocked. 4-3 defenses are the most apt to do this, as they can't bring pressure from as many places as a 3-4; therefore, they need to create confusion in another way.
Let's say for example we have a base 4-3 with a strong-side 5-technique (on the tackle's outside shoulder) and 3-technique (guard's outside shoulder), and a weak 1-technique (center's backside shoulder) and 5-technique (tackle's backside shoulder). If the offense has an inside zone run called, the quarterback might initially see this front and audible to the other side, because the 1-tech and 5-tech have more space between them for a running lane.
After his audible, the quarterback begins his cadence. At the last second, the 3-tech and 1-tech stem; the strong 3 comes down to a strong 1, and the weak 1 moves to a weak 3. The defensive front has now baited the offense into running away from the formation's strong side. It's a small victory, but small games like this on the offensive and defensive line are often crucial to the game's outcome. Stemming is completely different from stunting, but we'll save that topic for another time.
Stemming is a perfectly legal part of football because the defensive linemen are moving sideways before the snap. "Illegal Stemming," however, is when a defensive lineman moves with the express purpose of causing the offensive lineman to false start. That's exactly what the Aztec d-lineman was doing before Baer's 55-yard attempt; rather than trying to get into a different position, he kept flinching like he saw the ball being snapped. This caused the right tackle to flinch, but San Diego State got hit with the 5-yard move. Then this happened:
I'm still amazed that the referee called illegal stemming, because as 99% of the time the offensive lineman gets called for that even though it's the defense's fault. Plenty of coaches might say that the lineman should have been able to hold his water with the defense flinching like that even if it meant coming off the ball a hair slower; however, with a game-winning kick on the line after having a kick blocked earlier, every fraction of a second counts.
This is a penalty that has been called much more often in the last two years, and I'm glad that's the case. For too long offensive linemen have had the burden of remaining perfectly still while defensive linemen have a bag full of tricks to lure them into false starting. I'm glad the kick got moved forward here, and I'm glad Baer made it (even though I picked SDSU). Why, you ask?
A victory for one offensive lineman is a victory for all.
