College football umpire has smash hit on YouTube

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No surprise that the biggest hit of the college football weekend has been a favorite on YouTube for the last 48 hours. But here’s the catch: The forearm that sent South Carolina quarterback Stephen Garcia sideways wasn’t delivered by an opposing player.

During the second quarter of the Gamecocks’ 24-17 loss to Louisiana State, Garcia took off for the end zone and, cutting left, collided with umpire Wilbur Hackett Jr.

The Web-based replay, shot from ground level, makes it appear as if Hackett, a former Kentucky linebacker, slid into position and delivered a perfectly timed forearm shiver. Southeastern Conference officials offered a different view.

‘The tape looks a lot worse than what really happened,’ SEC spokesman Charles Bloom said. ‘The runner was going toward the umpire and then he switched direction just a tad and [the umpire] put up his forearm to protect himself.’

The conference found no error by Hackett on the play. Neither did South Carolina, which scored shortly thereafter.

‘Stephen sort of cut right back into him,’ Coach Steve Spurrier told The State newspaper in Columbia, S.C. ‘Sometimes that will happen.’

Besides, an official inadvertently picked off an LSU defender on yet another player, leading to a South Carolina score.

-- David Wharton