Pac-10 officiating comes under fire
It’s said that you are what your record says you are, but the chatter out of Norman, Okla., and Eugene, Ore., would have you thinking otherwise.
Discussions – some quite loud and pointed – have been going on in those two college towns and around the country after Oklahoma lost in large part because of an officiating error that was compounded by an error in the replay booth, giving Oregon the ball and a chance. The Ducks, of course, ended up winning 34-33 on Saturday, and the Pac-10 has since suspended the replay official and the officiating crew for next week’s action as a result of the error.
“When officials’ errors affect the outcome of the game, it’s not good for either team,” Oregon coach Mike Bellotti said Tuesday morning. “And I can certainly understand their frustration. In 34 years of coaching college football, it’s the first time I’ve ever been in this situation.”
Oklahoma, meanwhile, has been forward about its displeasure with the situation. Following an outcry from his own upper administration, Sooners coach Bob Stoops said Tuesday he’s considering canceling his team’s scheduled trip to Washington in 2008 unless the Pac-10 changes its officiating rules.
The conference requires that all Pac-10 home games be officiated by Pac-10 referees.
That’s a policy that Pac-10 coaches, including Washington State’s Bill Doba, have suggested may need to go.
“I think there’s no question,” Stoops said to the Associated Press, “that (athletic director) Joe Castiglione and I and president (David) Boren – if that rule is not changed – that we may reconsider that game, and I think it’s justified. We’ll look into that.”
Aside from the obvious blemish on Oklahoma’s record, it appears the big loser in the brouhaha may end up being the Pac-10. For a conference not well regarded around the country in the first place, this latest incident won’t serve to foster any good feelings toward the West Coast’s premier collegiate athletic league. Nor will it make any of the grousing from west of the Rockies go away in regards to officiating, which has been a constant sore spot among conference coaches and fans.
“We’re not gloating at all,” Bellotti said. “We respect the University of Oklahoma – that coaching staff – and obviously, we as the Pac-10 Conference are trying to get it right.”
Bellotti also expressed regret that his players are being denied a moment in the sun for their accomplishments, having scored two touchdowns in the final minute, then blocking a last-second field goal, to overcome a 13-point deficit and then preserve the one-point win.
“It did not, in this case, I guess, get it right,” Bellotti said of instant replay. “I feel very fortunate for us to have won the football game, not fortunate for officials’ errors, but for the way that our team played. We were lucky, we made plays, we never gave up.”
Carpenter accused of pressing
Arizona State head coach Dirk Koetter said his quarterback, Rudy Carpenter, has been pressing too much.
The Sun Devils have a big game this weekend against California, and Koetter will need his quarterback to be on point to start the conference season off with a victory.
“He’s trying to nit-pick every little thing,” Koetter said. “Rudy said to me (Monday), ‘Last year, I was just happy with completions and now I’m trying to make everything a big play.’ And I think that’s very well said.”