1. Each set of officials tend to spot differently. They spotted the ball the same for BYU as they did for USC. They seemed to look more where contact with the ground was rather than where the ball was upon contact. They were consistent about it for both USC and BYU and neither fan base was happy about it. The Michigan State game in Lansing was MUCH worse. The officials placed the ball where the feet of the ball carrier was rather than where the ball was.

2. The rule is that if the offense substitutes then the ball is held by the official to give the defense a chance to substitute. (They can actually hold the ball even without the offense substituting depending on where the ball is on the field at the end of the play.) The idea of the defensive players running onto the field to take the place of the offense is to confuse the other team thinking it is the kicking unit. n the case of the play in question, the refs determined that they didn't hold the ball long enough for USC to have time to substitute. I haven't ever seen the refs give back a timeout in that case, and I don't agree with how they did it, but that is the reason.

3. The hit wasn't as low as it looked. He actually hits mid-thigh, rather than knee or below. Not that I agree they should be able to go low on a receiver that is up in the air. Just lay him out and try to dislodge the ball. There has been a lot of controversy about this in the NFL, but so far the rule is only about going to the head or neck area.

4. Can't launch with the crown of the helmet anywhere, per the rule. Oddly, this does not apply to offensive players. Ball carriers often lower their head and use it as a ram. All that said, the safety made a clean hit and tried to dislodge the ball. He wasn't lowering his head and leading with the crown. It is pretty easy to see when a player drops their chin and then lunges with the top of their head. That is clear attempt to target. For an example of this look at what Blackmon did to Wilson in Wilson's pseudo slide in the Utah game. Sliding or not, Blackman dropped his chin and lead with the crown. That is the perfect example of targeting with intent.