A Bad Weekend for Big Ten Officials

Here is one of the controversial plays from Saturday's Indiana-Iowa game. Receiver Terrance Turner scores a touchdown that would have given the Hoosiers a 28-14 lead, but the score is nullified by the replay official. 

The reversal helped the Hawkeyes rally for a 42-24 victory, and although Indiana coach Bill Lynch didn't raise a stink afterward, others were doing it for him.

Bob Kravitz of the Indianapolis Star wondered if fans should direct their anger "at an inept group of officials who took 14 IU points off the board with bogus calls on obvious touchdown passes?"

He added: "If IU fans thought they got pick-pocketed at Michigan, this felt more like the Brinks robbery."

Bill Kline of the Allentown Morning Call wrote: "Probably the worst overturned call I have ever seen occurred in the third quarter when the replay fool, er, ref overturned a would-be Indiana TD reception. There is no way in hell that the evidence was conclusive enough to overturn the call on the field."

Gregg Doyel of CBS Sports.com was more direct: "I'm saying it: I firmly believe those Big Ten referees, whether on their own or at the behest of the league, did what they had to do to keep the Big Ten's only BCS title candidate undefeated. And given how bad Iowa was for 3 1/2 quarters, they had to do a lot."

Plenty of others share the belief that the Hoosiers got hosed.

Chris Dufrense of the Los Angeles Times suggests that instant replay needs to be reviewed: "If we, the non-experts, can see it, why can't the experts?"

It was a difficult weekend for Big Ten officials. There was a tricky call in the Michigan State-Minnesota game. The Golden Gophers were called for 17 penalties for 157 yards, both team records, on Saturday. The Spartans were flagged nine times for 73 yards.

There was a controversial call in the Michigan-Illinois game. Wolverine receiver Roy Roundtree appeared to catch a 77-yard touchdown pass, but after a review was ruled down on the one (video below). Michigan then failed to score on four running plays and Illinois took over on downs and drove 99 yards for a touchdown and 14-13 lead. Michigan was emotionally out of it after that and lost, 38-13.

Comments

[John]

Poor writing by the Indianapolis Star columnist. Those bad calls, and they were bad, only cost Indiana 7 points. They scored on the very next play on one of the calls. He is being extremely literal in his explanation. But, it paints an innacurate picture. Indiana was so overmatched in the fourth quarter Iowa may have come back from even more than Northwestern did the previous week.

This was a hangover game from Michigan State. Look for things to be different on Saturday, despite the mounting injuries.

[Ackos]

You sometimes have to wonder what replay officials are looking at.

[Bobby Fenton]

The fix is in! The Big Ten knows Iowa is their ticket back to national prominence and will stop at nothing to ensure that Iowa stays undefeated! Conspiracy! [/The Wiz]

[Manuel]

Hey Wiz, I'm sure it's coming, but you're going to post the video of Spikes getting eye-gouged in the first quarter of the UF/UGA game, right? I mean, after the vitriol you spit out yesterday, I'm sure you'll be just as righteous in pointing out what provoked him, yes?

Anybody is curious, it's over at sportsbybrooks.

[Bobo Puffels]

I remember blowing off the "NBA games are fixed by the refs" crowd, until the truth cam out they were right. Now, after seeing the UF/Arkie and Indiana/Iowa games, I am 100% convinced college football is rigged.

[Craig]

What was controversial about the UM - UI call? The player was clearly down before the goal line. Freeze frame at 1:39 shows this.