Bad Calls Are Part Of Game Nobody Likes - | 14:52:53
posted by: Josh

I???ve watched the replays of the controversial onside kick from this weekend???s game between Oklahoma and Oregon and it seems to me that the officials missed a call. There was also a questionable call on a pass interference penalty called on an Oklahoma defender. The Sooners went on to lose by one point and that makes this even more difficult to swallow.

It???s no secret that calls are missed at the little league, high school, college and professional levels. We???ve seen video replay added across college football this season, but it didn???t do its job on Saturday. The bottom line is that there is no foolproof way to avoid a missed call. All we can do is put as many precautions in place as possible and hope the officials get it right.

I believe video replay enhances competition; I don???t see any reason to question its benefits. At the U.S. Open last month, the commentators said that calls were ???only??? overturned about one-third of the time under a new system that allows players to challenge calls. If ???only??? one wrong call is made right, it???s worthwhile to have video replay at the ready.

So the question becomes, how do officials miss calls when they have the chance to look at the replay? They need conclusive evidence to overturn a call, and I???m sure they weren???t positive and therefore couldn???t pull the trigger.

Because there isn???t a playoff in the Football Bowl Subdivision, a loss really leaves a blemish on a team???s record as it fights for a spot in one of the coveted BCS bowls. To have the outcome of game decided by the officials doesn???t seem fair, but I???m not sure there???s much of a solution. Unfortunately, bad calls are a part of the game.

Comments

Change the call!!! Why are we expected to believe that these so called "officials" (from the Pac-10) are the only people in America who didn't see what happened??? That's not a mistake...It's called not seeing what you don't want to see...Reminds me of the French "judge" from the winter Olympics a few years ago...What happened in that case??? Oh yeah, they rewarded the team that got cheated!!! CHANGE THE CALL!!!

posted by: David Briggs | 09/18/06

Saying the PAC 10 refs made a mistake is the understatement of the year. This was the absolute worst case of "Home Cookin" I have ever seen. I couldn't believe my eyes. The picture of the Oklahoma player holding the ball with the referee signaling possession for Oregon speaks volumes regarding the total lack of integrity by the refs. To the Oregon and Oklahoma football teams, you both played hard and are winners in my book. It is the referees and PAC 10 conference that are the losers.

posted by: Haenous | 09/18/06

Not conclusive evidence? By soft peddling this obviously biased debauchery, you are insulting not only the Oklahoma Sooners football team, but everyone who saw exactly what happened. You are the NCAA...you have the power to place the kiss of death on a team because a player broke the rules...but nothing can be done about crooked officiating? Excuse me that I don't believe that. Fire the replay officials. Send a message to all officials out there that cheating will not be tolerated. They got exactly what they wanted, a win for Oregon. Suspension for one game? That is laughable. Flex your muscles, NCAA. You have them when you want to use them.

posted by: Quana Austin | 09/18/06

You have to be kidding me! Even my dog could tell that was a HORRIBLE call! Video replays can't be any more conclusive than in this particular instance. No matter which angle was shown they all very OBVIOUSLY showed the same thing! This is not a "mistake." This is unethical and blatant CHEATING on the part of the replay officials. A message needs to be sent to all teams/conferences/officials that cheating will not be tolerated at any level!

posted by: angee | 09/18/06

As an Oregon alumnus and a Ducks fan, I have to agree (as many Oregon papers and fans have) that the onsides kick was horribly botched by the officials. I've watched the replay over and over, and an Oregon player clearly touched the ball before it had gone 10 yards. It was close---but conclusive, and it should have been overturned. And it's truly embarrassing that it was a Pac-10 replay team that upheld the on-field call.

Calling it cheating, though? Doesn't plain incompetence explain it? It tends to explain most things! I didn't see the game, but by all accounts (in Oregon, Oklahoma and elsewhere), the game was horribly officiated throughout, with Oklahoma getting its share of weird decisions, especially early on. (And the fact that a Sooner ended up with the ball is not the issue, since the play had been blown dead---on a very quick whistle, granted.)

I'm glad the Ducks got the win, of course, but it would have been a lot nicer had it been a clean win. And I thought that Bob Stoops and the whole Oklahoma team showed extraordinary class in their reactions afterward---disappointed and angry, sure, but understanding that bad calls, even the pivotal ones, are, unfortunately, part of the game.

posted by: Sam | 09/19/06

Let's not focus on just ONE bad call, there were a few. One other major missed call was in the second half when Oklahoma had the ball and ran the clock out before the snap and the refs didn't catch it (although ABC did). By the way this missed call resulted in an Oklahoma touchdown. Fair is fair. Remove this touchdown for Oklahoma and Oregon can remove the touchdown for the controversial call and the score becomes 27-26 and Oregon still wins.

This was an incredible game for both teams, no one deserved to lose and focusing on just one aspect of a really great game makes it look bad for both teams.

posted by: Lostat38 | 09/19/06

Post a Comment


Type the characters you see in the picture above.

CommentsFeaturedRecent
It means that two very good teams with very good coaches made it to the final game.
- Marie
Read Post
Double-a Poll

footer