WOW, DID K-STATE GET HOSED & IT'S HUSKIES NOT HUSKERS
Unless you are new to this site you already know I live & die with the Missouri Tigers. I do not root for any other Big-12 team, period. But when I see something as completely wrong as what I saw at the end of the New Era Pinstripe Bowl between Syracuse & Kansas State, I have to say K-State got hosed. No other way to put it. With Syracuse leading 36-28 & 1:30 left in the game, Wildcat QB Carson Coffman hit WR Adrian Hillburn down the sideline & after breaking a tackle, Hillburn got into the endzone. He dropped the ball, stood at attention & gave a salute to the crowd. Not a one-fingered salute, a military salute. The back judge from the BIG TEN officiating crew throws a flag for unsportsmanlike conduct, excessive celebration. Now K-State's 2-point conversion attempt must come from the 18-yardline, not the 3. Coffman misfires on the pass, Syracuse runs out the clock, game over. Look, I'm not saying the Wildcats would have made the 2-point try, only 43% of the time is a 2-point conversion successful. But by calling this absurd penalty, that percentage plummets to probably .25%. When an official determines the outcome before the players on the field even have a chance to make a play, the game is in trouble. The referee, one Todd Geerlings, tried in vain to justify the call. This game wasn't for a conference championship, it's a bowl game, essentially an exhibition. The supposed infraction wasn't anything, I sincerely doubt 2% of the college officiating crews in America would've called this a penalty. Syracuse deserves a lot of credit, this program was on the brink of disaster with Greg Robinson at the helm but 2nd year coach Doug Marrone turned things around & the Orangemen won their first bowl game since 2001.
I wasn't the only person watching this game who was outraged. NBA All-Star LeBron James Tweeted this message moments after the game ended:
"I'm watching this K-State vs. Syracuse bowl game & the refs just decided the outcome of it. It's a shame, kids playing their hearts out & the game decided on a terrible yellow flag."
I'd like to point out, the game that followed, the Music City Bowl contested by Tennessee & North Carolina also featured a BIG TEN officiating crew. But in this game I watched celebration after celebration when touchdowns were scored including Vols QB Tyler Bray & his throat-slashing gesture not once but twice. Apparently some BIG TEN crews allow anything while another wants 20-year old kids to score their touchdown & then walk quietly back to their bench showing zero emotion. Is this what we want, a bunch of zombies playing college football? What I want is some common sense, not what we witnessed in Yankee Stadium.
The Music City Bowl was not without controversy & it too came from the officiating crew. Tennessee led 20-17 with under 25-seconds to play, North Carolina ran a draw play for 5-yards. With all their timeouts gone, the Vol kicking unit hustled out to attempt a game tying field goal. Tar Heel QB T.J. Yates got his offense set & spiked the ball with 1-second left on the clock. But there were 18 North Carolina players on the field at the time of that snap. After 5-minutes of consultation, they moved the ball back 5-yards & kicker Casey Barth booted a 39-yard field goal to send it to overtime. The Heels won in double overtime 30-27 & Tennessee fans have to wonder "Why Us? I'm not a Vol or Wildcat fan, but I'm saying "Why Us?" Why must we sit thru exciting games only to have the outcome determined by an official?
On September 18th, the Nebraska Cornhuskers visited Seattle Washington & they pummeled the Huskies 56-21. In that game three Husker backs totaled over 100-yards apiece. Washington QB Jake Locker was dreadful, completing just 4 of 20 passes. When it was announced the two would be paired again in the Holiday Bowl a big "Who Cares" rose from the assembled masses. Nebraska had stomped Arizona in last year's Holiday Bowl 33-0. I said right here the day after this matchup was made I had serious doubts as to Nebraska's motivation. NEWS FLASH, they weren't motivated in the least. Washington 19 Nebraska 7. Those same three backs who gained over 100-yards in the September meeting totaled just 97-yards tonight, which when added to their 92-yards passing, proved the lack of motivation. The Huskers committed 12 penalties for 102-yards, they had a pair of turnovers against a far less talented, but very motivated Huskie squad. This marked Nebraska's last game as a Big-12 football program, see ya, buh bye!
I wasn't the only person watching this game who was outraged. NBA All-Star LeBron James Tweeted this message moments after the game ended:
"I'm watching this K-State vs. Syracuse bowl game & the refs just decided the outcome of it. It's a shame, kids playing their hearts out & the game decided on a terrible yellow flag."
I'd like to point out, the game that followed, the Music City Bowl contested by Tennessee & North Carolina also featured a BIG TEN officiating crew. But in this game I watched celebration after celebration when touchdowns were scored including Vols QB Tyler Bray & his throat-slashing gesture not once but twice. Apparently some BIG TEN crews allow anything while another wants 20-year old kids to score their touchdown & then walk quietly back to their bench showing zero emotion. Is this what we want, a bunch of zombies playing college football? What I want is some common sense, not what we witnessed in Yankee Stadium.
The Music City Bowl was not without controversy & it too came from the officiating crew. Tennessee led 20-17 with under 25-seconds to play, North Carolina ran a draw play for 5-yards. With all their timeouts gone, the Vol kicking unit hustled out to attempt a game tying field goal. Tar Heel QB T.J. Yates got his offense set & spiked the ball with 1-second left on the clock. But there were 18 North Carolina players on the field at the time of that snap. After 5-minutes of consultation, they moved the ball back 5-yards & kicker Casey Barth booted a 39-yard field goal to send it to overtime. The Heels won in double overtime 30-27 & Tennessee fans have to wonder "Why Us? I'm not a Vol or Wildcat fan, but I'm saying "Why Us?" Why must we sit thru exciting games only to have the outcome determined by an official?
On September 18th, the Nebraska Cornhuskers visited Seattle Washington & they pummeled the Huskies 56-21. In that game three Husker backs totaled over 100-yards apiece. Washington QB Jake Locker was dreadful, completing just 4 of 20 passes. When it was announced the two would be paired again in the Holiday Bowl a big "Who Cares" rose from the assembled masses. Nebraska had stomped Arizona in last year's Holiday Bowl 33-0. I said right here the day after this matchup was made I had serious doubts as to Nebraska's motivation. NEWS FLASH, they weren't motivated in the least. Washington 19 Nebraska 7. Those same three backs who gained over 100-yards in the September meeting totaled just 97-yards tonight, which when added to their 92-yards passing, proved the lack of motivation. The Huskers committed 12 penalties for 102-yards, they had a pair of turnovers against a far less talented, but very motivated Huskie squad. This marked Nebraska's last game as a Big-12 football program, see ya, buh bye!
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