As a sports fan I understand the upset Oklahoma is feeling. Losing a game for any reason is hard to get back up from. Oklahoma knowing that the call was unfair is having a harder time dealing with a loss they don???t deserve.

The instant replay official obviously made a bad call that could have been stopped, because he did have the chance to watch the tape several times. Whether or not the call was made to help Oregon win is unknown. I feel that the Oklahoma fans have taken the threats too far and either way they still have to suffer through a loss. I also think that the official should be put up for review by the Pac-10. That way there will be no further situations like the Oklahoma-Oregon case.

-Beth Winger

There are a couple of reasons why the call was missed.

1. NCAA Officials are only paid $400 per game. My thought is that the NCAA is not serious about training officials and paying them what they are worth in an age when college football is synonymous with mayhem.

2. The in-booth Official who missed the call, someone who my dad personally knows, did not have the proper equipment to view the replay, as he only had one, just ONE angle to view the call. ABC commentators showed you every possible angle in which the replay could be viewed. Fans forget that the official did not have those additional views at his discretion.

I do recall one angle from the set of replays that did not provide "definitive evidence" that the ball belonged to Oklahoma. If that was the angel the official saw, then I can understand why the official made the call the way he did. Unfortunately, the official is unfairly blamed for something that is not his fault. The NCAA should be blamed for not providing the proper equipment, the same equipment available to the networks. Officials need and deserve every angle in order the judge a call. So do the fans.

In a day and age when the regular season means the difference between several millions of dollars for your college program, the NCAA needs to get serious about instant replay if it wants to have instant replay in the game.

Of course, ten years ago if the referee made the call on the field, that was all you got. Bad calls used to be a part of the game. Now we have to get serious about getting everything right.

This event also provides another reason why there should be a playoff in NCAA Division IA play. Even if a team gets hurt by a bad call that forces them to lose a game, they are still provided a chance to win the National Championship if there is a playoff. Oregon and Oklahoma are two teams that I believe with some overall improvement, could be considered a couple of dark horses for the National Championship. But as soon as one of them loses a game in the regular season, they are out of the picture. How is that fair?

To resolve the issue of the Oregon and Oklahoma game, two teams that I hope can eventually form a rivalry, is to have the game replayed. The old game would result in a draw between the two teams. Yeah, a tie in college football! Of course, this doesn't excuse that Oregon should have lost the game, but I feel it is the best way to resolve what the game could mean to a team's regular season progression. Oregon just needs to take its game against Portland State, a Division I-AA school, off their schedule and then there would be an open slot for second week of December rematch on Saturday, the 9th. The payoff, however, is Oklahoma gets to keep its 12th game on the schedule and Oregon would only have 11.

Sincerely,

Collin S. Ferguson
Gresham, Oregon

I have to admit it was very unfortunate for OU on that call. I am also glad to see the Pac 10 is taking some action to ensure that their officials are held to some standards.

But, the things most fans and media focus on are those 1 or 2 plays at the end of the game and not the countless other opportunities throughout the game for their favorite team to make a play. Being a former coach, I can confidently say that OU's staff wasn't sitting around and watching that one play with the team over and over again saying "that play cost us the game." They were showing the times they missed tackles, missed assignments in the secondary, didn't catch a pass, etc. It's easy to sit here and blame it on one play but that's just not reality.

I coached basketball and even if the game came down to a last second shot, we had shot the ball around 50+ times in the game and I am sure we never made all of them. The point is - no matter what the officials called, they weren???t the ones to beat OU. Teams and coaching staffs need to look more at themselves instead of passing the blame. It's just like the timing issue in week one of college football. That didn't make anyone lose, poor preparation made them unsuccessful to that rules change.

It would be nice for a change if someone could just step up and admit that they were beat and take ownership of the situation. When they win they don't thank the refs for favorable calls do they?

I wanted to comment to try and set the record straight from an NCAA perspective. Keep in mind that the NCAA is not trying to deflect blame ??? we represent our conferences and schools and support them accordingly ??? but to educate the general public and try and create some understanding of the chain of command with regard to officiating.

First, the NCAA writes the playing rules for many sports ??? football is one ??? and that responsibility was the impetus for the formation of the NCAA. The NCAA does not, however, hire, train or supervise the game officials. This responsibility lies with the conferences in virtually all levels of college football, including the Football Bowl Subdivision.

To the comment that officials are not paid enough for the role they play in the game ??? this is an agreement between the conference and the individual officials they assign. The laws of economics most certainly apply here. No amount of money, however, will get every call right and eliminate all mistakes from the game.

I certainly can???t comment on the replay booth and what angles were available at the Oklahoma-Oregon game. I do know that all Division I-A conferences have made a concerted effort to ??? at a minimum ??? ensure that whatever is broadcast over the air is available and many have taken steps to supplement the telecast views with additional camera feeds available through recording systems.

While this again is no solace to the Oklahoma players, coaches and fans, the bottom line is that the Pacific-10 Conference took action to punish the officials on the game and, knowing many officials as I do, they have already punished themselves repeatedly. Officials who are serious about their dedication to the game ??? and I can assure you, the officials on the game were dedicated ??? feel worse about missing the calls than anyone. Unfortunately, there is no way to correct it. By rule, when the next play occurs, rules decisions may not be changed for any reason.

Let???s try and keep some prospective here. College football is a wonderful part of our culture and way of life in the United States. And, while it may feel like a life and death situation ??? no one deserves to receive death threats for any decision made around a football game. The replay official has one of the most difficult jobs in the game today ??? under immense pressure and with what feels like a very limited time ??? the official must make decisions that affect the game with little recourse if they are wrong. So, give the guy a break. He was doing the best job he could.

I would like to first state that as an Oklahoma graduate I am sickened that anyone who calls themselves a Sooner fan would make a death threat. I'm sorry anyone would make a death threat on behalf of my alma mater, that is unspeakable and I hope they trace it back to the source and prosecute.

Was I upset about the bad calls and even more so after the replay official didn't see what I could see so clearly? Of course. I was furious. I would like to make note that Bob Stoops and the Oklahoma coaching staff are one of the most professional staffs inasmuch as they don't generally complain when they disagree with a call and if you think differently just go back and review their comments after last year when Texas Tech did not score a touchdown to win the game, but it was given to them on the field by an incompetent call. That play was reviewed and stood as called on the field, but later replays became available that proved Henderson didn't score. No whining or complaining was heard from OU coaches. They said we didn't make enough plays to win the game. This time is different, replays were very much conclusive as to what happened.

I've read a few different places about the lack of equipment for replay officials to view all angles available on TV and that they didn't have conclusive evidence to change the call. However, I was watching the game and unless my Boomer Sooner hearing was impaired by my allegiance to OU, what the official on field said was that the replay showed conclusive evidence that an Oklahoma player touched the ball before it was recovered by Oregon. While that is true, it was not actually the issue. That in and of itself was not evidence that it should have been Oregon's football. He should have been looking to see if Oregon interfered with Oklahoma's opportunity to receive the kickoff before it went 10 yards downfield (and despite rules that need to be changed he should have seen that Oklahoma actually recovered the ball).

I have also heard numerous times that the quick whistle decision that Oregon recovered the kickoff was not reviewable. While that may be true by rule, it seems really obvious when the officials were still trying to find the ball in the pile to verify which team had the ball that Oregon didn't have it when an Oklahoma player was already up and holding the ball for them to see. Replay officials should be able to address that.

Do I think Pac-10 officials were deliberately cheating for Oregon? No, but I really have to temper that with a comment. The better question should be, were the officials caught up in the excitement and emotion of the game, crowd, and situation? Absolutely, and that's the reason no conference should be able to make rules such as the one that only Pac-10 conference officials can officiate non-conference Pac 10 home games.

As for the comment that by rule any time the next play rules decisions can't be changed I would suggest that if any official decides to cheat, they can change the entire outcome of a game and it looks like all they will get at this point is a one week suspension if their conference takes any action at all. What would I like to see done? Return the players to the field, at the point in the game that it was taken away from Oklahoma and let them play it out from there. Oklahoma would still have to run enough plays, gain enough yards, protect the ball, and run out the clock to finish the game but they would be on offense.

There is one other issue that needs to be mentioned as I feel it is of almost equal importance. The reason the Oklahoma kicker didn't make the field goal was because the kick was blocked. That would never have happened if the announcer didn't jinx the kicker by saying he hadn't missed any all year.

Down but not out,

The video looked pretty clear to me. PAC10 did not go far enough. I believe the call was blatant and the official team should have been suspended for the balance of the year. Perhaps retraining and a vision check are also needed. One really has to wonder why PAC10 only allows their referees to officiate at PAC10 games. PAC10 should change that rule. I do like Mr. Ferguson's idea of a rematch, but at this point would prefer neutral territory for both schools.

There are definitely ways to correct what happened but "for the good of the game" allegedly...fixes never get made. In this case, there is a legitimate bylaw that can be created for just such an instance. In this case, PAC-10 officials admitted their "refs" blew it. If the NCAA had guts, they would then ask folks who vote on rankings to "TAKE THE BLOWN CALL INTO ACCOUNT WHEN AWARDING VOTES." Since both schools were ranked in most polls, the pollsters would have to a)award the offended team a vote as if they won b)penalize ALL schools in the offending conference by taking away final vote points c)insuring that the benefiting school cannot be ranked higher than the offended school.

SCHOOLS SHOULD NOT BENEFIT FROM BLOWN CALLS ON THEIR BEHALF ESPECIALLY BY REFS FROM THEIR CONFERENCE AGAINST SCHOOLS FROM OTHER CONFERENCES...THAT TAINTS THE GAME.

I just want to reiterate that the NCAA has absolutely nothing to do with the rankings. In addition, the NCAA has nothing to do with the BCS and doesn???t officially recognize a Football Bowl Subdivision national champion.

Also, while a rematch sounds good, it doesn???t seem feasible to me. The teams already have other commitments, and you can???t drop another program from your schedule once the season has already begun.

SEC???s Explanation Not Consistent With Stated NCAA Rules.
SEC officials contend that officials made the correct decision in reversing a pass interference penalty called on Auburn defensive back Josh Hebert made by officials late in the LSU-Auburn game on September 9, 2006.

NCAA Rules
Article 4.b* of the NCAA Rule book states as follows:
???Defensive players may not use hands and arms to tackle, hold or otherwise illegally obstruct an opponent other than a runner.???
Approved Ruling 9-3-4: An interpretation of this rule is provided by the NCAA in Approved Ruling 9-3-4**
Scenario: ???During a legal forward pass that crosses the neutral zone, B1 holds eligible A1, who is beyond or behind the neutral zone. The Pass is not catchable by A1.
Ruling: Team B foul, holding.
Penalty: 10 yards and first down, basic-spot enforcement.???

Defensive Holding, Pass Interference, & Tip Rule
The NCAA has reconciled the application of the three rules of the tipped ball, pass interference, and defensive holding.
Tip Rule - The tip rule can???t apply if the ball is tipped after the infraction has occurred.
Pass Interference ??? The pass interference can???t occur if the receiver could not have made a play on the ball; or, stated another way the receiver must have had an opportunity to catch the pass without the infraction.
Defensive Holding - The play is always defensive holding when a defender holds an offensive player who is making a play on the ball. The defensive holding rule does not require the receiver be capable of making a play on the ball. The defensive holding call is applied even when a pass is thrown to the opposite side of the field. Since Doucet was held (or tackled) before the ball arrived or was tipped, it should be defensive holding. A tip of a pass which makes the ball uncatchable by a receiver is of no consequence when the tip occurs after the infraction by the defensive player. Thus, the referee???s judgment on the issue whether the receiver could have made a play on the ball is taken out of the equation.

History of NCAA Ruling 9-3-4:
The NCAA came out with this ruling to reconcile the application of the Pass Interference rule with the Holding rule. This application of the defensive holding rule applies to a play involving a ball that is uncatchable by the receiver.

Comment
Approved Ruling 9-3-4 makes the SEC???s statements regarding the reversal being a correct call very suspect. Upon review of the video more than once, surely, the SEC knew that defensive holding applied to this fourth down play. The two rules, Pass Interference and Defensive holding, are designed so the result can never be that there is no penalty on the defense. The video certainly shows that Doucet was held or illegally obstructed by the early tackle of the defender. He was holding onto his leg well before the ball arrived.

Listed References:
* NCAA 2006 Football Rules and Interpretations Manual ??? Rule 9, Section 3, Article 4, titled ???Use of Hands or Arms by Defense.??? Located on page 127 of the Rules Section
** NCAA 2006 Football Rules and Interpretations Manual - Approved Ruling 9-3-4. Located on Page 69 of the Interpretations Section.

Additional References:
***Rule 7, Section 3, Article 9, titled ???Contact Interference???. Located on page 104 of the Rules Section. All above data can be found at the following web site:
http://www.ncaa.org/library/rules/2006/2006_football_rules.pdf#search=%222006%20NCAA%20football%20rules%22

It doesn't matter that the NCAA has no official ability to interact with pollsters....you see there is this notion called "jawboning" or "using your office to coerce others into doing what you need done." NCAA leadership can go public with their comments and work on these organizations to respect their wishes. My point is that you really cannot undo after the game...a result. What you can do is to ask the public to view a result in a particular way..."spin" if you will. It is a rather common practice nowadays.

The NCAA and the membership can invest millions on new technologies to assist officials. Perhaps mistakes will be minimized, but there will always be a human element in officiating. That's sports. In toto, officials do a very good job. Even with replay it is harder today than it was 15, 20 years ago. Guys are so much bigger, faster, stronger. More things are happening. And the pressure today is ridiculous.

A lot of people have expressed concern about the home team supplying conference officials. A reasonable solution seems to be to keep a conference officiating crew intact, but then have an independent replay official. Again, you're not going to eliminate human error, but this would be a good check on the system.

The real story here is that the college "games" are so critical to the national interest that when a mistake is made fans go berserk on message boards and a few apparently make direct threats to officials.

Ultimately the lesson from all this should be is "it's just a game." Not life or death, not war, and not cancer. Bad calls are part of the game and will continue to be even with video replay. Learn from this mistake, then move on. Thanks Ty for pointing this out and for clarifying particulars about officiating oversight.

Marc

In regards to the ranking polls and BCS it has already been clearly stated that the NCAA has no control over these. It is crazy to think the NCAA could manipulate the national media who puts out the AP Poll. The president can't even control them. The funny thing is that the media will cause this frenzy about this bad call and costing OU the game but they are the ones that will drop them in the polls. It's kind of ironic I think. Also, the media will drop teams that win if it's not by enough or lose to a higher ranked team by one point. It's all subjective. So to say that the NCAA needs to put a spin on a loss for OU is impossible. If you want to get your point out there to the poll voters, write or contact your local sports writer.

When you???re in the backyard playing flag football with friends-it???s just a game. When you???re watching your son score a touchdown for the local community team-it???s just a game. But when you pack multi-million dollar stadiums with 30-dollar tickets and $20 or $30 million dollar bowl games are at stake, it???s more than just a game. That is why college football instituted the replay. Too much money at stake! No one would care if these calls where blown in the first half. But the game was on the line, and this is the only time when officials must use PERFECT JUDGEMENT. Personally, I don't think that???s too much to ask. So to all officials, screw up if you must, but don't do it late when you end up giving the game to a team that doesn't deserve it. Oh I almost forgot, if you don't have all the camera angles you need in the replay both, just watch the jumbo-tron like everyone else!

The official that made the bad call said he "missed the call." My goodness, the announcers and everyone else in America watching the game made the right call. I believe when any official steps into a game he needs to remember that he is no longer a fan in the game, he is being paid to do an impartial job whether he's being paid $400 as was mentioned or $4,000. If he wants to cheer the Oregon Ducks on to victory do it from the sidelines with the fans; don't do it by making blatant bad calls. I'm sorry, I don't see the call as a mistake in judgment, he did not "just miss the call." My opinion is that it's good he's "just sick over it." Probably what he's "just sick over" is that he will miss his pay this weekend since he is suspended. I have no doubt he was an Oregon supporter.
By the way, I live in Texas, but I have been a fan of the Oregon Ducks for a long time; and I will continue to cheer Oregon on to victory. But at the same time I was embarrassed by the terrible, plainly visible call against Oklahoma.

I feel that the officials probably did make a bad call. But at one point in time I feel that it probably has happened to every team. There is also nothing anyone can do about it because it???s over. Nobody can take back the call they made including the official. Therefore what would be the purpose in threatening the official? People make mistakes all the time in this world.

If the official was paid or told to make bad calls in the game I feel that he deserves what he gets and should no longer be allowed to do his job. But if it was only a simple mistake people should leave him alone. Nobody deserves to be threatened for any reason.

Well I don???t think that anyone???s life should be in danger in sports. That gives the game a bad name. Especially if the referee is getting death threats. I think he should not even go back to the games. Who would wanna be dead over a football game?

But I am a football fan and do not agree with refs making bad calls on purpose. I think if they???re going to do that they should get fired. The NCAA should have some kind of scale for refs and after they reach a certain amount of bad calls they should be penalized. And you can always find some new refs for college football. So I can pretty much say the NCAA needs to work on this.