If viewers of the USFL North Division coin toss were confused by the rules explanation prior to overtime, imagine how the players felt.
The referee of Saturday’s game between the Pittsburgh Maulers and Michigan Panthers gave the captains a detailed look into the best-of-three shootout overtime rules.
However, when he referred to the segments — each team had a possible three chances at two-point conversions — he called them innings.
This could have been the first time the word inning was tied to football.
The Maulers scored in their first and second “inning.” The Panthers had their first score nullified by a replay review of Mike Pereira.
Their second attempt saw an E.J. Kelly pass batted down.
And, after two innings and four points — runs??? — the Maulers had a 31-27 victory and a spot against either Birmingham or New Orleans in the USFL championship game.
Here are our overtime rules ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/0Cq4lEmdiP
— USFL (@USFL) June 25, 2023
A quick look at the USFL rulebook doesn’t provide the word inning, but it worked.
Overtime will be a best-of-three-play shootout. Each team’s offense will alternate plays against the opposing defense from the two-yard line. Each successful scoring attempt will receive two points. The team with the most points after three plays wins. The subsequent attempts become sudden death if the score is tied after each team runs three plays. The overtime period will extend until a winner is declared.
Effect: Both teams have an equal chance of winning.
Reason: Create more excitement and fairness with a designed shootout overtime period.
