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PSU ROBBED IN MICHIGAN AGAIN, BUT PROBABLY NOT THE WAY YOU THINK
Penn State got robbed again last weekend in Michigan … by some highly questionable officiating. Sound familiar? But it’s probably not what you think.
The Nittany Lions blasted the Wolverines 35-10 on Saturday for its first win at Michigan Stadium since 1996. And at one point in the first half, there was yet another time clock incident (prompting PSU play-by-play man, Steve Jones, to scream: “Why is the clock stopped?” over and over and over). But that wasn’t the miscarriage of justice.
It happened 90 miles away in East Lansing, where a series of controversial fourth quarter calls all went Iowa’s way, contributing to the Hawkeye’s final-play 15-13 victory over Michigan State. Even though the Lions were not on the field, it was ultra important to Penn State because it may wind up preventing the Lions from earning a share of the Big Ten crown and/or another spot in the Rose Bowl.
Due to a 21-10 setback to Iowa in September, PSU (3-1, 7-1 overall) is a full game behind the Hawkeyes (4-0, 8-0) and needs some outside help to catch up. The Spartans were primed to provide that help, but then the refs intervened. The worst was a personal foul call on a hit that happens dozens of times in just about every college game and is rarely, if ever, penalized. Plus, the call came embarrassingly late, keeping a drive alive that led to a field goal, and a 6-6 tie.
“If you are calling that, there needs to be consistency,” complained Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio. “This is a tough game. It’s a violent game. We don’t want to hurt people, but it’s hard to tell a defensive player to stand there and let the offensive player run you over.”
The next controversial call was a clear fumble by the Hawkeyes that was never officially reviewed and resulted in another kick that made it 9-6. And the third was a holding call on a defensive back, who was engaged with an Iowa wideout (within five yards of the line of scrimmage). The call could have gone either way, but ended up wiping out a Michigan State interception, and a few plays later Iowa scored the game-winner as time expired.
If any one of those three calls goes the other way, the Hawkeyes almost certainly do not win the game, and Penn State is now tied for first place.
Instead, Iowa is now in total command. It’s only difficult remaining game is at Ohio State. And even if the Buckeyes win that one – and PSU takes care of business and wins out -- the Hawkeyes would hold the tiebreaker due to its head-to-head victory at Beaver Stadium.
Afterwards, even Iowa coach Kirk Ferenz said his team was “fortunate to win.” – NEIL GEOGHEGAN
The Nittany Lions blasted the Wolverines 35-10 on Saturday for its first win at Michigan Stadium since 1996. And at one point in the first half, there was yet another time clock incident (prompting PSU play-by-play man, Steve Jones, to scream: “Why is the clock stopped?” over and over and over). But that wasn’t the miscarriage of justice.
It happened 90 miles away in East Lansing, where a series of controversial fourth quarter calls all went Iowa’s way, contributing to the Hawkeye’s final-play 15-13 victory over Michigan State. Even though the Lions were not on the field, it was ultra important to Penn State because it may wind up preventing the Lions from earning a share of the Big Ten crown and/or another spot in the Rose Bowl.
Due to a 21-10 setback to Iowa in September, PSU (3-1, 7-1 overall) is a full game behind the Hawkeyes (4-0, 8-0) and needs some outside help to catch up. The Spartans were primed to provide that help, but then the refs intervened. The worst was a personal foul call on a hit that happens dozens of times in just about every college game and is rarely, if ever, penalized. Plus, the call came embarrassingly late, keeping a drive alive that led to a field goal, and a 6-6 tie.
“If you are calling that, there needs to be consistency,” complained Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio. “This is a tough game. It’s a violent game. We don’t want to hurt people, but it’s hard to tell a defensive player to stand there and let the offensive player run you over.”
The next controversial call was a clear fumble by the Hawkeyes that was never officially reviewed and resulted in another kick that made it 9-6. And the third was a holding call on a defensive back, who was engaged with an Iowa wideout (within five yards of the line of scrimmage). The call could have gone either way, but ended up wiping out a Michigan State interception, and a few plays later Iowa scored the game-winner as time expired.
If any one of those three calls goes the other way, the Hawkeyes almost certainly do not win the game, and Penn State is now tied for first place.
Instead, Iowa is now in total command. It’s only difficult remaining game is at Ohio State. And even if the Buckeyes win that one – and PSU takes care of business and wins out -- the Hawkeyes would hold the tiebreaker due to its head-to-head victory at Beaver Stadium.
Afterwards, even Iowa coach Kirk Ferenz said his team was “fortunate to win.” – NEIL GEOGHEGAN
posted by Nittany Lines at
8:12 PM
2 Comments:
What fantasy world do you live in?
Did Michigan State recover the so called fumble only to have the refs award it to Iowa? A fumble was not called either way much less with Michigan State recovering it to have it taken away.
Is it now legal to hold a receiver until the pass is thrown? "Could have gone either way" give me a break.
Ware's helmet may not have been the first contact with Iowa's receiver but it did make contact during the hit. His pads were not high enough to hit Sandeman's helmet so what did? I've never heard of a player getting knocked out from a blow to the body.
The problem with the fumble was that it was never reviewed (even though Michigan State called a timeout to give the officials a chance to do the right thing). We don't know who recovered the fumble (and it clearly was out), or where the ball should have been placed, because they missed the call on the field and in the booth.
The holding call: DBs are allowed to have contact with a receiver within five yards of the line of scrimmage. The way I saw it, both players engaged each other, but refs always give the benefit of the doubt to the offensive player.
But the Ware penalty was by far the worst. Check out what ESPN's Big Ten blogger says about it. He says the call -- made 30 seconds after the play -- had been whistled dead, was only because the Iowa player did not get up right away. There was no helmet-to-helmet and the receiver had two steps to prepare for the hit. It wasn't just legal, it executed exactly the way players are taught to tackle, with shoulder pads and with great momentum. What a shame. -- NEIL GEOGHEGAN.
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