Referee Takes Down South Carolina QB Stephen Garcia with Forearm Shiver

When you’re reffing a game played at a high level, the action around you happens pretty quickly. That’s why it’s not uncommon to see a referee get caught up in the middle of a play and wind up knocked over by a ball-carrier, or a tackler in pursuit. Even on Sunday I saw a referee get run over. But on Saturday, I saw something I had never before seen. South Carolina quarterback Stephen Garcia had tucked the ball and commenced to run in the game against LSU. As he cut across the field, he ran into some trouble and was trying to shake a defender. Only one problem: someone brought him down. You’ll never guess who it was. Let’s go to the videotape:

I’m wondering if the official’s going to get an assisted tackle on that play. Seriously, what the heck was he doing? Was he briskly trying to move out of the way and got caught off guard? Or do the conspiracy theorists have it right thinking that the ref was an LSU alum? Unfortunately we will never have the answer to these questions.