Fans who watched Tennessee lose to South Carolina Saturday saw three things. First, the Vols have to be one of the worst-coached college football teams in the country.

Second, &8220;Old Ball Coach&8221; Steve Spurrier has to be one of the best college football coaches in history. And, third, you saw SEC field judge Richard Morales get his chin busted.

Baton Rouge resident Morales, who has been officiating in the SEC for more than 10 years, just happened to be in exactly the right place at exactly the wrong time.

Tennessee faced a fourth down at around the Gamecock 40. The Vol punter aimed for the &8220;coffin corner&8221; (which is the intersection of the sideline and goal line) as he attempted to pin South Carolina back close to its goal line.

Field judge Morales, who was standing at the pylon placed at the intersection of the goal line and sideline, was perfectly placed to rule on the result of the punt as he was able to see if the ball crossed the sideline before or after it crossed the goal line.

A Tennessee &8220;gunner&8221; (one of the wide-out players who speed down field covering punts) was headed for that same intersection, hoping to maybe stop the ball before it crossed the goal line. He was also watching the ball, and the result was a bad collision.

The Tennessee player was knocked off his feet, and Morales was on the ground unconscious. After a few scary minutes, Morales got to his feet and was led to the dressing rooms. He reappeared later and spent the rest of the game as the clock operator.

That man, who is also the alternate official, had replaced Morales on the field after the injury. As most major college dressing rooms include almost hospital-like dental and medical facilities, Morales is probably feeling the pain of several stitches this week.

With Morales unable to make a ruling on the play, that fell to the referee, who correctly ruled that the punt had crossed the goal line before going out of bounds, resulting in Carolina putting the ball in play at the 20.

I don&8217;t personally think it mattered because Tennessee was unable to put any pressure on Spurrier&8217;s quarterback and was unable to cover any of his receivers. Except for the second half of their LSU game, Tennessee just hasn&8217;t looked like a team prepared physically or mentally.

I watched the replays of the punt play several times and can see no way the collision could have been avoided.

The Collegiate Commissioners Association Football Officials Manual for seven-man officiating addresses the field judge&8217;s (and side judge&8217;s) duties on punt plays, under Section 11, Punts, Article 1J , Procedures, as follows: Duties Before the Ball is Snapped: Take a position on the sideline on your side of the field… (When the ball is snapped at approximately or inside Team B&8217;s 45 yard line, take your initial position at the goal line pylon).

And that&8217;s official.

Al Graning is a former SEC official and former Natchez resident. Reach him at

AlanWard39157@aol.com

.