The C.O.W. airing of the grievances followed by the feats of strength
This might have been the whiniest week of college football I can ever remember with Oklahoma and LSU fans bombing anyone with an e-mail proof that their respective teams got jobbed by the officials. It's a shame there isn't this kind of fire and anger when it comes to the important aspects of our world. Yeah, there were some terrible, terrible calls in the two big games this last week.
However, despite what many choose to believe, they didn't decide the games. Let's make something very, very clear here. The officials aren't biased. In today's day and age when there's so much media coverage of the big games like the ones this Saturday, do you really, truly believe officials would deliberately screw up knowing that they'd get nailed to the wall for the bad calls? With that in mind, here are the ten things that made me really, really, really grouchy this week.
10. You can’t spell pout without OU
Here’s a concept foreign to Oklahoma in its rage over the outcome of the Oregon game: defense. The officials blew the call on the onside kick and the late pass interference call, and inexcusably messed up in the replay booth in a big way. The Sooner nation has a right to be really, really mad, but not to the point of tormenting the poor ref who blew the call with phone calls and death threats. OU still could've won the game if it had just done something to stop the Ducks over the final three minutes.
Maybe the Sooners can’t handle the fact that they flat-out choked after the blown call. Maybe they’re looking for answers to why their secondary, even with the bad pass interference call (that ball was tipped) couldn’t make a final stop, or why their special teams couldn’t block anyone on the final field goal attempt. You want an apology? How about a big, fat, “I’m sorry” for your performance in the 55-19 loss to USC in the 2005 Orange Bowl?
9. University of Oklahoma president David Boren
Boren embarrassed the University of Oklahoma, the players, coaches, and the game of college football with his letter to the Big 12 asking to eliminate the Oregon game from the record books and to request the Pac 10 officials be suspended for the season. How about hollering at the team for not being mentally tough enough to overcome an honest officiating mistake? The officials didn’t beat Oklahoma, Oregon did. It’s unfortunate the Pac 10’s apology and reply didn’t have the words “eat” or “shorts” in it. Which leads me to …
9. If you want to be known as a power conference, act that way
Why did the Pac 10 suspend those officials for one game? They blew a call. It was a big call and they missed it, but to suspend them is to cater to public opinion and try to assign blame for human error. Worse yet, it feeds into the notion that there was some sort of conspiracy against the Sooners. Accept responsibility and say your guys blew the call. That’s it. If Oklahoma, or anyone else can’t handle it, then that’s their too bad. If the officials really are grossly incompetent, then fire them.
8. And by the way, Taurean Henderson was in
Every coach preaches and screams over and over and over again about going out and executing no matter what. Focus on the things you can do, and don’t let outside distractions affect what happens on the field. That’s why it’s unfortunate that Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops has said anything about the officiating in the Oregon game and not just said "it’s over, we lost", and moved on. How's this for coachspeak? Oklahoma shouldn't have been in a position to lose late in the first place.
Stoops shouldn't be allowed to slide for saying that the officials "chose not to (get the call right)." Officials are human, and they all make mistakes in the heat of the moment. To hint that there was some sort of calculated effort to make OU lose that game is wrong, dangerous, and beneath a coach who has conducted himself and his program with integrity.
“In a game I’d love to have a chance to replay it and do it over,” said Stoops. “They get that opportunity, we don’t. To me it’s just unacceptable and inexcusable.”
You got your opportunity, and your D and your field goal team failed. Try to save some shred of dignity and give Oregon some credit for making plays when your team didn’t.
8. Next time, try throwing the ball into the end zone
Enough about the picked up pass interference call,
LSU fans. Fine, so it was a curious move by the officials to pick up the flag late in the Auburn game after claiming the ball was tipped, but be honest; the interference had nothing whatsoever to do with the actual play. I call it my pickup basketball rule. If you’re fouled, but you missed the shot because you missed the shot and not because you got tapped on the arm, you don’t call the foul. Sure, rules are rules, but that didn’t cost LSU the game. You don't really want to win like that, do you? Even after a game full of lousy calls,
the offense still had a final drive to win the game, and blew it.
http://cfn.scout.com/2/570097.html
