Worst Calls in NCAA History

[hedonistimpulse]

A bunch of B1G representation in these links, including our Huskers being on the wrong side of a few.

It's staggering how many of these were brutal, game deciding calls that were reviewed and then wrongly confirmed or upheld.

 

[Charlie Marlow_rivals363743]

McCloskey’s ‘catch’

 

[schuele]

McCloskey’s ‘catch’

Yeah that and the non-TD for Alabama were good illustrations of what happened when Penn State was allowed to hire booster club members to officiate their home games.

 

[Mack In Motion]

The no call

 

[Crazyhole]

The 5th down stands above all others.

 

[Redscarlet]

The 5th down stands above all others.

How so many missed this after stopping the clock on 4th down is hard to believe but they did..

I knew one of the officials he was a Asst principle in Millard at the time..

 

[Crazyhole]

How so many missed this after stopping the clock on 4th down is hard to believe but they did..

I knew one of the officials he was a Asst principle in Millard at the time..

So was the principal at York.

 

[nwualum_rivals330058]

I happened to be listening to that CU-MU game on radio and knew it was 5th down. Even the announcers there missed it.

How about the non-call on K-State against Crouch on the face mask.
I've seen Husker players tackled trying to make a sack right in front of a ref and not get called. Overall they do a good job but there have been some awful missed calls against over the years.

 

[Redscarlet]

So was the principal at York.

Believe he was the same person and was the principal at York at the time and was a Asst principal at Millard before that..

My mistake but same person..

 

[Crazyhole]

Believe he was the same person and was the principal at York at the time and was a Asst principal at Millard before that..

My mistake but same person..

Ah. I thought that was a crazy coincidence.

 

[WC_'sker]

F- ped state for '82. Remember the Okies getting screwed at Oregon? I knew one of the refs on that crew. They were suspended.

 

[HuskerBlueDevil]

I have a friend who was at the 5th down game, sitting right on the goal line. He was sitting with some clients, all of whom were KU fans and so hated Mizzou. And yet all of them said that the TD call on 5th down was wrong. The QB didn't break the plane.

OTOH, I have a friend who was a back-up WR on the CU team and he said there was so much confusion on the sidelines that it was only when CU was actually lining up for the 5th down that some of the staff was starting to say "wait, what down is it?"

 

[Big K 655]

The unneccessary roughness call against A&M the last time we played.them in the Big 12.

The added seconded given to Texas in the Big 12 Title Game.

The worst is still the out of bounds catch at Ped State in 1982.

 

[daddy mack]

McCloskey’s ‘catch’

The no fumble in the 78 NU /OU game Really??

 

[Redscarlet]

The no fumble in the 78 NU /OU game Really??

No question that ranks amount the top if not #1, but it didn’t cost Nebraska a National title like the McCloskey out of bounds catch.

 

[huskerssalts]

The no call

that has to be the worst miss call in my opinion. It was so obvious and what makes it worse, it happens to the guy with the ball...you know, the guy EVERYONES eyes are on.

 

[Crazyhole]

that has to be the worst miss call in my opinion. It was so obvious and what makes it worse, it happens to the guy with the ball...you know, the guys EVERYONES eyes are on.

The back judge was looking right at it, which makes it so much worse. Still not a 5th down with 2 seconds left, but really, really bad.

 

[saluno22]

The no call

Of course, there are never no-calls that favor us, right?

At about 2:42 in the following video, I believe it's Jared Tomich taking KSU's QB down by the headgear. My recollection is it happened twice in this game, and I thought at the time and still to this day "How the f*** was that not called?!"

 

[9and4_rivals188421]

Believe he was the same person and was the principal at York at the time and was a Asst principal at Millard before that..

My mistake but same person..

There was also a Lincolnite on the crew. His son has been a Big XII official for a couple of decades.

 

[HuskerBlueDevil]

The no fumble in the 78 NU /OU game Really??

Phelps caught the ball out of bounds. There is a video with a sideline view that shows the official waving his hands to indicate dead ball as soon as Phelps catches the ball. The crowd was so loud that the whistle could not be heard by anyone on the field. The officials had to wait until the next commercial timeout to explain what had happened to TO it was so loud. I've seen Ruud interviewed a couple of times and he said that it wasn't until after the game that it was explained to him, but having seen the film he now understands what happened and why it wasn't a fumble.

 

[jedihusker]

Of course, there are never no-calls that favor us, right?

At about 2:42 in the following video, I believe it's Jared Tomich taking KSU's QB down by the headgear. My recollection is it happened twice in this game, and I thought at the time and still to this day "How the f*** was that not called?!"

I'm assuming you meant 4:42, which shows a hit against a KSU QB, and not 2:42? If so, that's not a facemask. For it to be a facemask it requires grabbing and pulling on the facemask, not incidental contact to the facemask area by someone's hand. That's not to say that in today's football that wouldn't have been called a penalty, because I'm sure they would have come up with something to call; but in 1995 when they didn't treat QBs like fragile little human beings, there was nothing at all illegal about that hit.

 

[saluno22]

I'm assuming you meant 4:42, which shows a hit against a KSU QB, and not 2:42? If so, that's not a facemask. For it to be a facemask it requires grabbing and pulling on the facemask, not incidental contact to the facemask area by someone's hand. That's not to say that in today's football that wouldn't have been called a penalty, because I'm sure they would have come up with something to call; but in 1995 when they didn't treat QBs like fragile little human beings, there was nothing at all illegal about that hit.

Right, 4:42. I copied the share link with a timestamp and saw "282", and math is hard Winking

 

[schuele]

Phelps caught the ball out of bounds. There is a video with a sideline view that shows the official waving his hands to indicate dead ball as soon as Phelps catches the ball. The crowd was so loud that the whistle could not be heard by anyone on the field. The officials had to wait until the next commercial timeout to explain what had happened to TO it was so loud. I've seen Ruud interviewed a couple of times and he said that it wasn't until after the game that it was explained to him, but having seen the film he now understands what happened and why it wasn't a fumble.

I've heard this explanation many times but there are a couple of problems with it. First, the official didn't stop at the 10 yard line and blow the play dead where Phelps would have stepped out of bounds. Instead, he follows the play up near the 20 and starts frantically waving his arms after the hit happens and the ball is loose. Then the officials gave OU the ball at the 19 yard line instead of at the 10. In the ABC video (linked below), you cannot see the official in question the entire time. But if he saw Phelps step out of bounds and intended to blow the play dead for that reason, he did absolutely everything horribly wrong - including the spot where OU was awarded the ball:

Go to the 2:00:00 mark

 

[Baxter48_rivals204143]

Phelps caught the ball out of bounds. There is a video with a sideline view that shows the official waving his hands to indicate dead ball as soon as Phelps catches the ball. The crowd was so loud that the whistle could not be heard by anyone on the field. The officials had to wait until the next commercial timeout to explain what had happened to TO it was so loud. I've seen Ruud interviewed a couple of times and he said that it wasn't until after the game that it was explained to him, but having seen the film he now understands what happened and why it wasn't a fumble.

Phelps didn’t catch the ball out of bounds. Watch the video he’s a good foot away from the sideline. But if that’s the officials explanation the other poster is correct the ball should have been spotted at the 10. Plus the official that was waving it dead was around the 19

 

[jedihusker]

Phelps didn’t catch the ball out of bounds. Watch the video he’s a good foot away from the sideline. But if that’s the officials explanation the other poster is correct the ball should have been spotted at the 10. Plus the official that was waving it dead was around the 19

Exactly, just rewatched the video, I've seen it before, but it's been a while. He was cleary in-bounds, and the ball was clearly recovered, by Nebraska, in bounds. Like you said, if the explanation was he was out when he caught it, they were way off on the spot.

 

[jedihusker]

Phelps didn’t catch the ball out of bounds. Watch the video he’s a good foot away from the sideline. But if that’s the officials explanation the other poster is correct the ball should have been spotted at the 10. Plus the official that was waving it dead was around the 19

This play always reminds me a more recent one that was just as bad, and basically the exact same type of play, though a different situation. Nebraska had a 14-point lead at the time of this play, so it wasn't as critical of a situation, but called correctly, this play would have pretty much ended the game, with a 21-point lead with just over 9-minutes left in the game; as Nebraska almost certainly would have scored on the play.

It's from 2010 Missouri game, hit on Blaine Gabbert where he clearly fumbled, but the refs inexplicably said his forward progress was stopped, which is just ridiculous if you watch the play. Go to 2:19:08 on the video, if it isn't already cued there, to see the play. Bonus is you get to hear good old Ed Cunningham whining for a few minutes too.

 

[schuele]

Exactly, just rewatched the video, I've seen it before, but it's been a while. He was cleary in-bounds, and the ball was clearly recovered, by Nebraska, in bounds. Like you said, if the explanation was he was out when he caught it, they were way off on the spot.

Yeah I've always thought the "out of bounds" explanation was a load of BS the officiating crew made up later to try to cover its collective butt. It's too bad the camera leaves the side judge momentarily so you can't say for certain he didn't try to blow the play dead before the fumble. But absolutely nothing in the video suggests that he did.

 

[HuskerBlueDevil]

I never said the call was correct. The sidelines camera angle was low, but it looked like Phelps was a good 4-5 inches in bounds. But you see the official immediately waving his hands to stop the play. So the mistake was on stopping the play, not saying Phelps forward progress was stopped or that the ground caused the fumble or the myriad other explanations given by fans over the years. Plus, in the interviews I saw, on NET and one on ESPN, Ruud said that he is satisfied with the explanation as to why it wasn't a fumble. But he didn't say he accepted that the out of bounds call was correct.

 

[schuele]

I never said the call was correct. The sidelines camera angle was low, but it looked like Phelps was a good 4-5 inches in bounds. But you see the official immediately waving his hands to stop the play. So the mistake was on stopping the play, not saying Phelps forward progress was stopped or that the ground caused the fumble or the myriad other explanations given by fans over the years. Plus, in the interviews I saw, on NET and one on ESPN, Ruud said that he is satisfied with the explanation as to why it wasn't a fumble. But he didn't say he accepted that the out of bounds call was correct.

Where do you see him immediately waving his hands to stop the play?

I only see him waving his arms after the hit and the fumble, nearly 10 yards upfield from where he would have immediately blown the play dead.

 

[HuskerBlueDevil]

It's from 2010 Missouri game, hit on Blaine Gabbert where he clearly fumbled, but the refs inexplicably said his forward progress was stopped, which is just ridiculous if you watch the play. Go to 2:19:08 on the video, if it isn't already cued there, to see the play. Bonus is you get to hear good old Ed Cunningham whining for a few minutes too.

I was at that game and even though we had a good lead the crowd was displeased, to say the least. It was a terrible call.

 

[HuskerBlueDevil]

Where do you see him immediately waving his hands to stop the play?

There is view straight down the sidelines that they showed on NET when NET rebroadcast the game some years ago. You see the official start waving his hands as soon as Phelps catches the ball.

 

[schuele]

There is view straight down the sidelines that they showed on NET when NET rebroadcast the game some years ago. You see the official start waving his hands as soon as Phelps catches the ball.

That's funny, because in the video linked above, Phelps catches the ball, tippy-toes the sideline and takes 3 or 4 steps upfield before the official is out of the shot. And that video doesn't show any arms waving.

Like I said, it's not impossible that he blew the play dead at the 10-yard line but absolutely nothing that happened afterward supports that explanation.

 

[HuskerBlueDevil]

Geez, why all the arguing. I just reread the article from the World-Herald from the day after the game. The article described 2 controversial plays. One where Rick Berns was clearly interfered with going out for a pass and the other where one official ruled that Phelps caught the kick-off out of bounds. No one is arguing that the call was right. But once the one official started waving his hands, the play was dead. And he started doing so well before the collision between Ruud and Phelps. And Ruud has said that the non-fumble was the correct call in at least 2 interviews. Now let's return to our previously scheduled program of kill the messenger.

 

[schuele]

You’re the one who said Phelps caught the ball out of bounds, then said maybe he didn’t. Then you said the official blew the play dead immediately, which isn’t supported by the video or any action taken by the officiating crew at the time.

Your complaint isn’t that there’s an argument - it’s that there’s an argument and you’re losing.

 

[HuskerBlueDevil]

You’re the one who said Phelps caught the ball out of bounds, then said maybe he didn’t. Then you said the official blew the play dead immediately, which isn’t supported by the video or any action taken by the officiating crew at the time.

Your complaint isn’t that there’s an argument - it’s that there’s an argument and you’re losing.

No, the play was blown dead. The sideline camera angle shows the official blowing the play dead right after the ball was caught. I said nothing about the official right at the point where Phelps caught the ball. He signaled ball in play, start the clock. if he had blown the play dead the NET program would not have had to show the other, definitive angle. An official further up the field signals ball dead and presumably blew his whistle. You do know that there is more than one official on the field, right? Ruud acknowledged that the play was immediately blown dead in 2 interviews, based on the same sideline video they showed in the NET program. TO said in the same NET program that he was told at the next timeout that was the reason. Just because you, in one view of the field, don't see the official who blew the play dead is immaterial. Facts are facts, whether you like them or not. The play was blown dead. Was it the wrong call? Most likely. But you seem to be arguing that because Phelps fumbled, his brothers and Barry Switzer's cousins on the officiating crew got together, quickly decided the best way to negate the fumble was say Phelps was out of bounds and the play was dead, and acted on that conspiracy. There are only two options: Either the play was blown dead, as everyone from the reporters for the two major NE newspapers to players on the field during the game say, or their was a conspiracy to negate the fumble, which the same reporters and players are participants in after the fact. That's it.

 

[schuele]

Well in this thread you've gone from "Phelps caught the ball out of bounds" to "Nobody is saying the call was correct" to "Was it the wrong call? Most likely."

Geeeeeeeeeeez, I can't imagine why anyone would question what you have to say on this topic.

And I'm still dying to know how the ball ends up at the 19-yard line.

 

[HominidHusker]

Phantom clipping on Corey Dixon TD against FSU which cost us the National Title was always up there for me.

And the exorcist facemask non-call on Crouch against KSU.

 

[litespeedhuskerfan_rivals19671]

Phantom clipping on Corey Dixon TD against FSU which cost us the National Title was always up there for me.

And the exorcist facemask non-call on Crouch against KSU.

The clipping call was just plain fraudulent.....and the no call face mask was made worse by Snyder at the interview after the game when asked about it, he played dumb and said..."did somebody face mask one of our guys? I didn't see it"...Snyder never missed a detail. Color me doubtful he didn't know what the reporter was talking about.

 

[timnsun]

A bunch of B1G representation in these links, including our Huskers being on the wrong side of a few.

It's staggering how many of these were brutal, game deciding calls that were reviewed and then wrongly confirmed or upheld.

One thing I didn’t see in either of those videos was a bad call that benefited us. If there was a husker uniform on the field, the bad calls always went against us. In these videos, that is.

 

[Redscarlet]

One thing I didn’t see in either of those videos was a bad call that benefited us. If there was a husker uniform on the field, the bad calls always went against us. In these videos, that is.

Mark Blazek’s 75 yard interception was a terrible call for a TD, but I can’t say it benefited us because we were down 28-0 against UCLA when it happened.Winking