Can you get a major decision in OT?

[BigRedFan]

Tied in regulation.  With less than one minute gone in SV, Wrestler A gets a takedown right into a cradle.  A then holds that cradle until time expires, thereby getting three points for the TD, four for the NF.  Does he get a point for riding time, thereby winning by eight points and earning the major?

[Mr. PeanutButter]

Idk but IMO wrestler A should get stalled out for not finishing the pin

[BIGTENFANBOY]

What about this? Score tied in sudden victory with more than 1 min left. Injury time is taken by Wrestler A. Wrestler B chooses top and rides out Wrestler A for the remainder of sudden victory finishing with over 1 min of riding time with the score is 0-0. Does Wrestler B get 1 point for riding?

[Hammerlock3]

4 hours ago, BigRedFan said:

Tied in regulation.  With less than one minute gone in SV, Wrestler A gets a takedown right into a cradle.  A then holds that cradle until time expires, thereby getting three points for the TD, four for the NF.  Does he get a point for riding time, thereby winning by eight points and earning the major?

I assume so, or at least it would require a rule i'm not aware of to negate the effect, and I'm not sure who would advocate said rule or why(not that there aren't a dozen rules that make no sense that some asshole in the meeting just put in to feel important).

 

[cowcards]

8 hours ago, BigRedFan said:

Tied in regulation.  With less than one minute gone in SV, Wrestler A gets a takedown right into a cradle.  A then holds that cradle until time expires, thereby getting three points for the TD, four for the NF.  Does he get a point for riding time, thereby winning by eight points and earning the major?

Yes.

4 hours ago, BIGTENFANBOY said:

What about this? Score tied in sudden victory with more than 1 min left. Injury time is taken by Wrestler A. Wrestler B chooses top and rides out Wrestler A for the remainder of sudden victory finishing with over 1 min of riding time with the score is 0-0. Does Wrestler B get 1 point for riding?

Yes

[flyingcement]

I respect the views of others and thank them for their posts

BUT

there is a part of me that only respects the final word from @gimpeltf before determining what is truth on matters such as this

[ionel]

16 minutes ago, flyingcement said:

I respect the views of others and thank them for their posts

BUT

there is a part of me that only respects the final word from @gimpeltf before determining what is truth on matters such as this

If only we had someone who knows nothing that we could ask.  I've often found a knownothing provides the best information ... darn you Bob!  

Edited December 8, 2025 by ionel

[Psalm 1 guy]

Yes! Wrestler A gets a TD immediately to Wrestler B's back (3 point lead). Wrestler A holds Wrestler B on his back in nearfall criteria for over a minute, thus securing the four point NF criteria (7 point lead). Wrestler B screams out in pain, causing the referee to stop the match. Wrestler A is awarded one point per Article 11 in the NCAA Wrestling Rules Book, making it an 8 point lead. Wrestler B then immediately punches wrestler A and wrestler A is awarded a penalty point per Article 12, making it a 9 point lead. Wrestler A is awarded the riding time point after the match is stopped. Wrestler A thus secures a Major decision, outscoring his opponent by 10 points! 

Art. 11. Injury — After Four-Point Near Fall Criterion Met. When a criterion for a four-point near fall are met, and a match is stopped for an injury, the defensive wrestler indicates an injury or has excessive bleeding, an additional point shall be awarded to the offensive wrestler.

Art. 12. Assessing Penalty Points in Near fall Situations. Points for unnecessary roughness, unsportsmanlike conduct, technical violations or illegal holds committed by the defensive wrestler during near fall situations shall be added to points earned by the offensive wrestler. In addition, wrestling shall continue during a violation(s) by the defensive wrestler if the referee determines no risk of injury exists.

Art. 13. Riding Time Point. The offensive wrestler who has control in an advantage position shall accumulate riding time. A timekeeper records each wrestler’s accumulated riding time throughout the match. If one of the competitors has one minute or more of net riding time advantage, the wrestler is awarded one point. An earned riding time point may be awarded no sooner than at the end of the third period and/or at the end of any sudden victory or any round of tiebreakers. The riding time point may be used to win or continue the match. The riding time point is earned simultaneously with any other points when determining whether a technical fall occurred.

[1032004]

16 minutes ago, Psalm 1 guy said:

Yes! Wrestler A gets a TD immediately to Wrestler B's back (3 point lead). Wrestler A holds Wrestler B on his back in nearfall criteria for over a minute, thus securing the four point NF criteria (7 point lead). Wrestler B screams out in pain, causing the referee to stop the match. Wrestler A is awarded one point per Article 11 in the NCAA Wrestling Rules Book, making it an 8 point lead. Wrestler B then immediately punches wrestler A and wrestler A is awarded a penalty point per Article 12, making it a 9 point lead. Wrestler A is awarded the riding time point after the match is stopped. Wrestler A thus secures a Major decision, outscoring his opponent by 10 points! 

Art. 11. Injury — After Four-Point Near Fall Criterion Met. When a criterion for a four-point near fall are met, and a match is stopped for an injury, the defensive wrestler indicates an injury or has excessive bleeding, an additional point shall be awarded to the offensive wrestler.

Art. 12. Assessing Penalty Points in Near fall Situations. Points for unnecessary roughness, unsportsmanlike conduct, technical violations or illegal holds committed by the defensive wrestler during near fall situations shall be added to points earned by the offensive wrestler. In addition, wrestling shall continue during a violation(s) by the defensive wrestler if the referee determines no risk of injury exists.

Art. 13. Riding Time Point. The offensive wrestler who has control in an advantage position shall accumulate riding time. A timekeeper records each wrestler’s accumulated riding time throughout the match. If one of the competitors has one minute or more of net riding time advantage, the wrestler is awarded one point. An earned riding time point may be awarded no sooner than at the end of the third period and/or at the end of any sudden victory or any round of tiebreakers. The riding time point may be used to win or continue the match. The riding time point is earned simultaneously with any other points when determining whether a technical fall occurred.

Does the clock stay the same going into SV if less than a minute?  So a guy could have 0:59 going into SV?  

Edited December 8, 2025 by 1032004

[Psalm 1 guy]

1 hour ago, 1032004 said:

Does the clock stay the same going into SV if less than a minute?  So a guy could have 0:59 going into SV?  

No.

Section 15. Overtime Art. 1. Timing and Scoring. The sudden-victory period and tiebreaker periods shall be regarded as extensions of the regulation match. With the exception of riding time, all points, penalties, cautions, warnings, timeouts and injury time accumulated during regulation shall carry over to overtime. Riding time accrued during regulation does not carry over into overtime. Riding time, however, is recorded during all parts of overtime.

[gimpeltf]

These aren't things I've thought much about but would agree with P1G!

[happyvalet]

42 minutes ago, Psalm 1 guy said:

No.

Section 15. Overtime Art. 1. Timing and Scoring. The sudden-victory period and tiebreaker periods shall be regarded as extensions of the regulation match. With the exception of riding time, all points, penalties, cautions, warnings, timeouts and injury time accumulated during regulation shall carry over to overtime. Riding time accrued during regulation does not carry over into overtime. Riding time, however, is recorded during all parts of overtime.

 

But if the wrestler getting cradled threw a punch while giving up back points, that would work.

3 pts TD, 4 pts NF, 1 pt unsportsmanlike conduct

 

Section 5. Near Fall. Art. 12. Assessing Penalty Points in Near fall Situations. Points for unnecessary roughness, unsportsmanlike conduct, technical violations or illegal holds committed by the defensive wrestler during near fall situations shall be added to points earned by the offensive wrestler.

[buckshot]

Easily, feet to back and hold him for a four count. Loser gets mad and gives a cheap shot so the winner is awarded a penalty point.

[Psalm 1 guy]

2 hours ago, happyvalet said:

 

But if the wrestler getting cradled threw a punch while giving up back points, that would work.

3 pts TD, 4 pts NF, 1 pt unsportsmanlike conduct

 

Section 5. Near Fall. Art. 12. Assessing Penalty Points in Near fall Situations. Points for unnecessary roughness, unsportsmanlike conduct, technical violations or illegal holds committed by the defensive wrestler during near fall situations shall be added to points earned by the offensive wrestler.

Good point. Immediately after my first response I realized the crying out in pain and the punch needed to be almost simultaneous in order to occur before the referee stopped the match, but unfortunately this site doesn't have an edit function, so I didn't bother.

[Psalm 1 guy]

Looking through the rules, in the above scenario I think the punch could still be penalized and added to the match score as long as it occurred "during the match", which I would think would apply to actions committed before the wrestlers shook hands and exited the mat. I guess the real question is how is "during the match" defined? That might be a judgment call, as I didn't find it defined in the rules. 

Art. 4. Wrestler — During a Match. An unsportsmanlike violation during the match shall be an award to the opponent of one match point for the first violation and disqualification from the match for the second violation.

[Psalm 1 guy]

OK, I really need to get to bed, but I found that the rules do define what a "match" is:

Art. 7. Match Parameters. A match begins with the start of the first period and ends with the conclusion of wrestling. The conclusion of wrestling occurs when time expires at the end of the third period, when overtime ends, or when a fall, technical fall, disqualification or injury default occurs. Art. 9. Postmatch Period. The time from the conclusion of an individual match, as defined in the match parameters, until the wrestler leaves the mat. 

So, besides needing to get to bed, I take back my previous post and agree the punch needs to occur before the match ends : ) 

[BIGTENFANBOY]

Here's another fun one. The match is tied after sudden victory OT, so the match goes to 2 30 second tie breaker periods. Wrestler A is on top and turns Wrestler B 4 times and earns a technical fall. 

On a more serious note, the biggest scoring gap in OT I can recall is Carter Starrocci vs Logan Massa with Star winning 7-1 after the 2 30 second tie breakers.

Edited December 8, 2025 by BIGTENFANBOY

[jdalu75]

23 hours ago, BigRedFan said:

Tied in regulation.  With less than one minute gone in SV, Wrestler A gets a takedown right into a cradle.  A then holds that cradle until time expires, thereby getting three points for the TD, four for the NF.  Does he get a point for riding time, thereby winning by eight points and earning the major?

I was going to say certainly, but after checking the rulebook I'm not so sure.

Section 16. Executing the First Round of Overtime
Art. 2. Winning the Sudden-Victory Period. The wrestler who scores the first
point(s) will be declared the winner. If a wrestler in the neutral position is
awarded a takedown while also meeting a near fall criterion, wrestling shall
continue until a fall or near fall points are awarded, or time expires. Any near
fall points are added to the winner’s match score.

Says nothing about counting riding time, but why wouldn't you?

 

I can see a MD in the tiebreakers as well.  Wrestler A rides out Wrestler B in the first TB; Wrestler A escapes in the second TB, then scores a TD and 4NF.  If he can do it blurry fast, two more 4NFs would give a TF in OT.

[1032004]

8 hours ago, BIGTENFANBOY said:

Here's another fun one. The match is tied after sudden victory OT, so the match goes to 2 30 second tie breaker periods. Wrestler A is on top and turns Wrestler B 4 times and earns a technical fall. 

On a more serious note, the biggest scoring gap in OT I can recall is Carter Starrocci vs Logan Massa with Star winning 7-1 after the 2 30 second tie breakers.

Yeah I was thinking something like this scenario is probably the “easiest” way to get a major in overtime.  This could realistically happen in the tiebreakers if one guy gets a turn in the first 30 seconds then the other guy tries something desperate in the second 30 seconds and gets turned again. 

[lu_alum]

17 hours ago, buckshot said:

Easily, feet to back and hold him for a four count. Loser gets mad and gives a cheap shot so the winner is awarded a penalty point.

Here's another possibility... 

• Red has two (2) one-point penalties heading into OT (e.g., locked hands & full nelson)
• No TD in SV
• Red chooses bottom and is ridden out for 30s
• Green chooses bottom for the 2nd 30s period:
  • Red locks hand while Green works toward a reversal 
  • Green completes the Reversal (2pts) and takes Red to their back for a four-count (4pts)
  • Two-point penalty is awarded for the locking hands (3rd infraction on the penalty chart: 1, 1, 2, DQ)
• Green wins by eight points for the MAJ.

Edited December 8, 2025 by lu_alum

[cowcards]

It's a lot easier to get a major+ in the rideouts than SV because the first score doesn't end the match, so you can come up with a thousands scenarios to make it happen. The only way it happens in SV is with a TD to the back.