Did They Get Me Twice in a Row?

Stu Ryckman · Nov 15, 2007

Tom Dienhart
SportingNews.com

Did the Big Ten make a $4.5 million mistake by allowing an officiating
crew that was facing a suspension this weekend to work last Saturday's
Illinois-Ohio State game?

As I reported last week, a source told me the conference plans to
suspend the crew that officiated the Nov. 3 Purdue-Penn State game
based on a review of its work in that game. That same crew worked one
of the biggest Big Ten games of the year last weekend in Columbus.

Incredible.

Why would the Big Ten assign the crew -- a few of whom could be fired
for their work in the Purdue-Penn State game -- to a game of this
importance?

The Big Ten does not comment on specific officiating issues.

The crew includes referee Stephen Pamon, umpire Pat Bayers, linesman
Jack Teitz, line judge Robert Davis, back judge Dennis Morris, field
judge Bobby Sagers and side judge Joe Duncan.

That group called just three penalties, one on Illinois and two on
Ohio State. And a few perceived non-calls have Buckeye Nation angry.
Many more fans are upset knowing this crew was running the game.

Were there blown calls? That's debatable. But perception matters more
than reality. And the reality is this crew shouldn't have been trusted
with such a game.

And how's this for another megadose of reality? The loss cost No. 1
Ohio State a shot at playing for the BCS title. What's more, that loss
hurt the Big Ten's chances of sending a second school to a BCS bowl,
which would net the conference an additional $4.5 million.

Now, the Big Ten will have to be satisfied with getting just one BCS
team. The winner of this weekend's Ohio State at Michigan game will go
to the Rose Bowl.

Tom Dienhart is a staff writer for Sporting News. E-mail him at
tdienhart@sportingnews.com.

Editor's note: This story has been updated from the original version,
which said the conference would net $17 million if Ohio State played
in the BCS title game. The Big Ten receives $17 million whether the
conference champ plays in the Rose Bowl or the BCS title game.

Terry O'Keefe · Nov 15, 2007

More offical misconduct.

Pac-10 commissioner suspends replay official; punishes referees

WALNUT CREEK, Calif.-- The Pac-10 Conference has suspended the replay official in last week's Washington-Oregon State game for failing to stop the game to conduct a review.

The officiating crew will also miss out on any chance to work a postseason game, the conference announced Wednesday.

Those same game officials were cleared of any problems resulting from four ejections and a slew of personal foul penalties late in the game, where Washington quarterback Jake Locker was injured on a helmet-to-helmet hit.

"We regret that there was flagrant misconduct on the part of some players which led to four ejections from the game, that there was an injury to Washington quarterback Jake Locker which increased the emotions of the players and that the instant replay crew failed to stop the game to review the play at the goal line with just under three minutes to play," Pac-10 commissioner Thomas Hansen said in a news release. "On the play, it was ruled Oregon State's Yvenson Bernard fumbled. However, it appeared his knee had touched the ground before he lost the ball.

"We found that the officiating crew made earnest attempts to control the conduct of the players. Eight personal fouls were called and four players ejected during the game. We did not find any act which was not addressed by the officials which warranted additional action by the Conference.

"We do believe the instant replay officials did not perform properly on the Bernard fumble play. There was human error in that while reviewing the available replays the crew failed to notify the game officials to stop play before the ball was snapped for the next play. It was not the fault of the equipment. The game should have been stopped and the play reviewed. The members of the [instant replay] crew have been reprimanded."

After the game, Pac-10 director of instant replay Verle Sorgen was quoted as saying that Bernard's fumble "wasn't that egregious unless you are an Oregon State fan."

Hansen wasn't happy with that, either.

"In addition, I apologize for what I deem an inappropriate remark by Pac-10 Director of Instant Replay Verle Sorgen. He assures me he meant no disrespect to Oregon State or its team, coaches and fans. The failure to stop the game definitely was egregious."

Hansen said that the play in which Locker was hurt wasn't an intentional helmet-to-helmet hit. "We believe the helmet-to-helmet contact on the hit on Locker was inadvertent," he said in the news release. "College football is played at a very high speed, and hard collisions such as this one result. Thankfully, Locker apparently did not suffer a serious injury. The sight of him walking back into Reser Stadium during the fourth quarter was most welcome.

"Helmet-to-helmet contact is a national point of emphasis, and we will continue to officiate accordingly."

The four players who were ejected will miss the first half of their next games, according to NCAA rules.

"This was not a game representative of the best of Pac-10 football, as evidenced by the fact there have been no ejections in a Pac-10 game previously this year," Hansen said. "We know that feeling is shared by the administrators and coaches at both institutions, and all involved will work to see such conduct does not happen in the future."
Click to expand...

Terry O'Keefe · Nov 15, 2007

I had to think about your title for a minute Stu...but I finally got it! Yes they got you 2x!!

JO'Co · Nov 15, 2007

I watched the Oregon State-Washington game and that was the worst reffed game that I've seen in the Pac10 in probably 30 years. I didn't care who won, but the officiating was as bad as I've ever seen it out here. There was no fumble. The Oregon State running back scored a touchdown. He was all by himself and he stretched out and placed the ball in the endzone, then walked away from it to celebrate. Both teams knew it was a TD, but suddenly one of the UW players realized that the official hadn't signaled a TD, but was staring at the ball instead. So he picked it up and began running with it about 70 yards in the other direction. It was incredible. I've never seen anything like it on the level, except for maybe USC's phantom TD in the Rose Bowl...

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