Bridled emotions

Using the end zone as a putting green will get a player penalized in college football. Anything that looks like a Lambeau Leap also will draw a flag. And don't dare make like a cowboy and use your fingers as six-shooters.

While the post-touchdown antics of Cincinnati receiver Chad Johnson and other NFL hotdogs seem to get goofier every week, the NCAA wants its officials to crack down on showboating.

Rule 9 of the NCAA football regulations deals with the conduct of players and coaches. The second section covers noncontact fouls and outlines some of the gestures and actions that will draw unsportsmanlike conduct penalties.

Taunting an opponent and obscene gestures are obvious no-nos and you'll get no argument from any official, coach or fan that those should be punished.

Some of the other impermissible acts specifically mentioned include, spinning the ball, chest pounding, imitating firing a weapon, going into the stands to celebrate with fans, bowing at the waist and diving into the end zone when unopposed.

Big East coordinator of officials John Soffey said he tells his officials to be prudent when dropping a flag on a player who is celebrating a touchdown.

"It has to be prolonged," he said. "If a guy just runs into the end zone and just beats his chest we try to ignore it unless he just keeps it up and starts raising his hands and throwing the ball.

"It's a fine line. Some plays are so big you don't blame a player for emoting as a result."

You can bet a college player who used the end zone pylon to putt the football after a touchdown, the way Johnson did against Baltimore on Sunday, would be deemed as having gone over the line.

"I understand what they're trying to do ... keeping the game under control," Florida State receiver Greg Carr said after practice Monday. "Sometimes you're out there and your emotions kind of take (over)."

A game-changing call

The celebration penalty that drew the most attention this season was called against Vanderbilt's Earl Bennett, who scored late in regulation against Florida and was flagged for 15 yards when he did a little hand jive that an official took for a "six-shooter" motion.

Vandy coach Bobby Johnson had planned to go for a two-point conversion that could have won the game. But the penalty forced him to send his kicker in for the tying extra point, and the Gators went on to win 49-42 in overtime.

Johnson called the penalty "stupid."

Soffey and David Parry, the national coordinator of officials, say the complaint they hear most from coaches regarding the celebration penalties is the inconsistency of the calls.

Texas A&M's Brandon Leone drew a flag after he did a mini-Lambeau Leap to receive congratulations from fans after scoring his first career touchdown against Texas last week. The stands are about 5 feet behind the end zone, and Leone barely had to hop to get his torso over the short wall.

What upset Aggies coach Dennis Franchione was that a Texas player, in his opinion, went over the line with a celebration earlier in the game and a penalty wasn't called.

"When the officials don't call one, then that opens the door for others. I was just disappointed in the way that was managed," Franchione said.

Ty Halpin, the NCAA's associated director for playing rules, said the rules committee put together a banned list of about a dozen actions to provide greater consistency.

"Did some guys have a quick trigger on the flag, perhaps," he said. "You don't want to eliminate any celebration from the game, it's such an emotional, high-pressure game. You want to have that explosion of emotion but not do it in a way that upstages the other team."

Soffey said he'd prefer the NCAA to at least scale back the rule and penalize only taunts.

"We don't like to influence a game that way," he said.

But the NCAA has been going the other way.

"Generally speaking the NCAA has asked us to get tougher on this to get better sportsmanship and avoid those type of acts that create ill will," Parry said.

Parry has suggested to the NCAA rules committee that players be allowed about 5 seconds to get the euphoria out of their systems.

"We might get a little more consistency that way," he said.