Real Kato Blog: Gaaaah

I've finally calmed down about that Michigan-Nebraska game.

So, what the hell was up with the officiating at the Alamo Bowl?

Yeah, I know, it's common for losing teams to say "WE WAS ROBBED". And no, Michigan did not play a great game, giving away turnovers and failing to play well on the offensive line. But there were several bits of horrendous officiating that made a huge impact on the game, leading commentator Mike Tirico to say it was the most poorly officiated game he'd ever seen. Examples:

- Michigan was forced to spend two timeouts in the second half, to give time for the instant replay official to signal a review. Keep in mind, these are officials from the Sun Belt conference who are not used to instant replay. They should have called for a review immediately on crucial, questionable calls, and Michigan should have been able to save its timeouts for the critical last few minutes of the game.

- A blatant pass-interference penalty should have been called in the end zone when the defender grabbed Mario Manningham's arm and prevented him from making a touchdown catch.

- On Nebraska's final drive, as they were trying to run out the clock, the officials did not start the play clock for a full ten seconds after the ball was ready for play.

- On that wacky final play that made all the highlight reels, the ENTIRE NEBRASKA TEAM was on the field, forcing Michigan to use only half of the field for its final desperation attempt... an attempt that almost succeeded.

Sigh. A disappointing finish to a disappointing year. Ah well. The great thing about college football is, there's always next year. Maybe key players will remain healthy, maybe we'll finally remember how to run the ball, maybe Chad Henne will learn how to move away from pressure in the pocket, and maybe we'll learn how to finish a game.

Maybe next year will be the year.

Permalink 1 Comment

Posted by Ken in: sports

Comments

Comment #1 from olafandyjon (Guest)
2006 Jan 2 - 12:03 am : #

And yet, this game was so typical of our season-build a good lead, teasing us with the offensive weaponry we have and then the defense giving up unanswered points as time winds down. *sigh*

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