Let me preface my comments with stating that I am a Michigan State alum, my blood runs green and white, and although I have a son at U-M, I generally root for whoever is playing Michigan. Even someone as disinclined to give Michigan a break as I am, I felt bad for the Wolverines and the shafting they got from the Alamo Bowl officials. First off, Michigan had to burn time outs to get plays reviewed that should have been noticed immediately by the replay official. What was wrong with this guy that he couldn’t buzz the referee to look at the close plays? But that last play in which the runner was facing the entire Husker team was a travesty. Even though some Michigan players were off the sidelines, they were not affecting the play. The Nebraska players that came off the bench definitely did affect the game. How they could keep their flags in their pockets on that one is beyond me. They should have called Nebraska for a penalty and given U-M one play from about the 6 yard line. I’ve seen a lot of football over the years, but seldom have I seen a crew as over their heads as this one.
It was bad officiating throughout that game but both teams had players on the field illegally, had they thrown a flag the penalties would have offset. It isn’t material that the Michigan players weren’t effecting the play.
Not so sure about that. I think U-M should have been given a sideline violation warning and Nebraska a penalty. Any football officials in the crowd?
After last night’s performance throughout the game I’m not sure we should put too much faith in football officials on this one.
You can see a replay here
I remember when I watched the game I thought a lot of Nebraska players were off the bench down near the end zone but from the replay it looks like UM players are the ones who are near the play and I don’t really see how the last guy with the ball was interfered with by any Huskers players.
There’s also some question when I look at the replay if there may not have been two forward passes by UM which would have made the whole thing moot.
It finally happened! BobLibDem and I agree about something. :eek: :eek: :eek: The apocalypse draws nigh.
From the first of the game through the last play, that was the worst officiating crew I’ve ever seen. I’m sorry for the teams that had to deal with this quality of officials all year.
That wasn’t so hard, was it? Next thing you know, you’ll have Teddy Kennedy’s picture on your wall. 
Nebraska fan here – yeah, I suppose it would have been “cool” to see that last play go down a la Cal-Stanford, but at least our guy made the tackle in the end. It would have been worse had Michigan actually scored (with regards to any potential controversy). Half of the Michigan players themselves were walking in the opposite direction of the play with their hands on their hips! I agree with Martin Hyde, the penalties would have offset.
Worse than anything is how the refs didn’t set the ball up in time (after Nebraska’s final posession) to give Michigan more than just the few seconds they got… recall the Michigan / Ohio State game, that final minute/seconds are really pretty important when you know the defense is sitting in a cushy prevent defense.
Don’t forget the obvious pass interference that was missed on Michigan’s fourth-down pass with about three minutes to go.
Regarding the last play, there are two possible penalties: “illegal participation” and “illegal interference”. (I’m satisfied that Michigan didn’t throw any illegal forward passes.) Illegal participation is the generic “twelve men on the field” penalty, and it appears that both teams were guilty. It’s penalized from the previous spot.
Illegal interference is more serious. It occurs when a substitute “interfere(s) in any way with the ball or player while the ball is in play”. It’s penalized from the end of the run. (In extreme cases, the referee “may enforce any penalty he considers equitable, including awarding a score”.) It’s a judgment call whether Nebraska was guilty of that.
In any case, since both sides committed a foul, the proper call would be offsetting penalties, with the period extended for one more play giving Michigan another chance from the 36-yard-line. It would have been kind of fun to see them tee it up again.
That was horrid officiating. I generally give the officals the benifit of the doubt, but wow! The roughing/unsportsman like no-call at the beginning of the game, the inconsistant kick return interference, no calls on pass interference…it goes on and on.
This had some Pit potential but since it’s turned out to be be watercooler sports chat, off to MPSIMS with it.
My apologies if it was a faux pas to put it in the Pit to begin with.
I was surprised and pleased that they called interference on the punt reception. Whether it was a simultaneous collision at the time of reception or just a shade after the reception, that receiver is pretty defenseless at that time and needs a little protection.
If the punt receiver doesn’t want to get hit, there’s always a thing called a fair catch. I thought both hits were legitimate, fair plays. I was surprised that guy held on to the ball both times.
Yeah, the refs were pretty bad, and both teams had some gripes, but that’s not why Michigan lost. Michigan couldn’t hold on to an 11 point lead in the fourth quarter and Nebraska’s defense came up with big plays when they needed them. I thought the Cornhuskers were out of it, but hats off to them for coming up with a big win for a rebuilding program. I think they’ll be back at the top sooner than most people thought.
They do seem to have finally broken with their decades long tradition of choking when the going gets rough.
Even if the penalties on the final play would have offset, it didn’t make sense for the officials to keep their flags in their pockets. If the Nebraska players did affect the return, it was just by taking up so much of the field - the entire team was walking out there. I’d have to watch it a few more times, which I can’t do from work. Meanwhile, despite Michigan’s botch job, there were several bad calls against them during the game, and the way the replays were handled was awful. Plus the inexplicable late spot on the final Nebraska punt. It was a high-quality game with incredibly bad officiating.
After watching that game, I would be surprised if San Antonio can attract the “Pop Warner Classic” to their city next year.
It gets worse. Apparently the Big Ten supervisor of officials can’t read the fucking rule book. In today’s Chicago Tribune:
Maybe so, but it would have been wrong:
Also, the reason why no penalties were called is that the officials “ran off the field” before the last play was blown dead, and Michigan got charged with timeouts because the replay buzzer “broke down”. Well, that’s just ducky. With the price they charge for tickets, you’d think they could hire officials that didn’t stagger in from an Amateur Hour audition, and give them working equipment.
Did anyone notice earlier in the game when the ref turned on his mike to address the stadium and tv and said, “the player’s knee was down right here– First Down, Michigan” – instead of saying, “on the 25 yard line” or “at the spot of the catch”… no, it was “right here” – I think he may have even pointed to the ground as he said it.
That seemed a bit odd.
TheBoneyKingofNowhere
Fellow Husker fan here (and UNL alum)
The bad calls were on both sides. NU had a bunch, too, probably 50/50. Besides, Michigan lost because they couldn’t hold onto an 11-point lead in the fourth. Nebraska just wanted it more. The Wolverines should stop whining and look at other reasons they lost. 2-3 questionable calls in 60 minutes of football. Bah.
Who am I kidding? Call me a hypocrite. I would be calling for the officials’ heads if Nebraska was the victim of those calls!
I screamed bloody murder when the refs cost us the games again Penn State in 1982 (PSU player caught the ball clearly out of bounds), Florida State in 1993 (phantom clip on a punt return TD) and Kansas State in 1998 (no-call on the worst facemask I have ever seen). You see, as a NU fan, those losses are solely because of the officials mistakes. They had it out for us, they did!
After suffering through those losses (the first two arguably cost us two national championships), it was strange being on the other side. For once in my life, the refs’ gaffes actually helped my Huskers!
I’ll take it. 
The officiating was wretched, no question about it.
But you know something? I think Michigan got the better of the deal.
Seriously. A wise man once said, “We only learnb from our failures. Success merely confirms our erroneous prejudices.”
This year’s Alamo Bowl featured two once-proud programs that just aren’t very good anymore. Both have been headed in the wrong direction for some time now, and I don’t see either getting better without a drastic change.
Michigan’s fans and administrators can see that now, and may do something tp remedy the situation.
Nebraska, on the other hand, may start to feel pretty good about things. They’re likely to forget that Bill Callahan can’t coach, that thje Huskers were never a contender in the piss-poor Big 12 North division, that his team struggled with MAINE, for God’s sake!
With a dubious win in the Alamo Bowl, Bill Callahan bought himself another year or two. And I’m betting the Nebraska faithful will come to regret that.