Did a Colorado player illegally come from out of bounds to hit an ASU receiver?
When you watch this play, something seems way off.
@TimHealeyASU Show this to Rapper.
Gross ass hit by @RunRalphieRun
He ran out from the sideline, plowed in to N'Keal for an illegal hit.Unforgivable at the team, Ref, and conference level.@BDenny29 @DevilsDigest @DougHaller @SunDevilSource @CronkiteSports @HouseOfSparky pic.twitter.com/418ijabmlA
— Jedi ASBoo (@JediASU) October 6, 2018
At first, it looks like a Colorado player ran onto the field of play from the sideline before leveling Arizona State wide receiver N’Keal Harry.
Didn't look like N'Keal Harry ever saw Drew Lewis coming on that punt return pic.twitter.com/bYJz76fMaf
— Jack Harris (@Jack_A_Harris) October 6, 2018
Well, that is what happened. But it was legal no matter how much it may look otherwise.
With Harry back to receive a punt, Colorado’s Drew Lewis was blocked way out of bounds by ASU. He actually ran around a row of his teammates before coming back inbounds and delivering the blow to Harry.
Pac-12 Network provided a replay of it all after the game:
.@ASUFootball coach Herm Edwards addresses the play that led to N'Keal Harry's departure from the game.#ASUvsCU | #Pac12FB pic.twitter.com/QmoKHDKlof
— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) October 7, 2018
Like many on Twitter who watched it on TV, Arizona State’s coaching staff wondered if Lewis was not one of the original 11 players on the field when the ball was snapped. But the officials confirmed to Sun Devils head coach Herm Edwards that Lewis was blocked out of bounds before he legally re-entered the field of play and made the tackle on Harry.
Because Lewis was blocked out of bounds, his re-entry was legal. From the NCAA rulebook:
No Team A player who goes out of bounds during a scrimmage kick down may return inbounds during the down (Exception: This does not apply to a Team A player who is blocked out of bounds and attempts to return inbounds immediately).
ASU fans will likely have qualms with the word “immediately” in the rule above as it relates to Lewis’ hit. Lewis ran for close to 20 yards while out of bounds, avoiding many of his teammates in the process, before returning to the field. Nonetheless, that’s how it was ruled by the officiating crew.
“[Lewis] was a guy that was running down there and we blocked him out of bounds. I asked the official and he actually came back in and made the play,” Edwards told reporters. “Once you block him out of bounds you can’t touch him anymore, so he was smart enough to come back and make the play. So good by him.”
Lewis confirmed that version of events as well.
Drew Lewis on the play he came from the sideline to hit Harry: “I got doubled teamed at first, pushed out of bounds. I kept on going because I knew the play was going on. As soon as I got back in-bounds I don’t think [Harry] saw me at all. So I kind of blind-sided him, I think."
— SunDevilSource.com (@SunDevilSource) October 7, 2018
The hit ended up sidelining Harry, ASU’s top wide receiver, for the remainder of the game, which Colorado won, 28-21.
The win improved the 21st-ranked Buffs to 5-0 on the year. Colorado remains the only undefeated team in the Pac-12.
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