Today's Tidbit... Offsetting Offside Penalties

In the recent article about the Reverse Center, I mentioned that in January 1942, the college rules committee chose to minimize changes to football's rules, mainly due to America's entry into WWII.

Among the rules “adjustments” made in 1942 was outlawing the reverse center. Another change was the elimination of offsetting offside penalties. Apparently, officials of the times recognized instances where players on both teams were offside but did not know which side to blame, so they called both teams offside, resulting in a do-over.

Duke practiced staying onside in 1942. (1943 Duke yearbook)