Fiesta Bowl!

[Guest Mattdotcom]

I like neither team and even I said that call was a load of shit that screwed Miami over royally.

[Guest jimmy no nose]

As an Ohio State fan I will admit that from what they showed on TV that looked like a bad call. I don't know if there was another angle or something, but it didn't look like anything that hadn't happened 15 times already in the game. ESPN said that in the last 2 years the Big 12 has had to issue 2 known letters apologizing for the same referee's bad calls deciding games. I kind of hope they issue an apology for this one, just because I'm a big fan of contraversy. Oh well, you take a win however you can get it.

[Guest DrTom]

I don't think the call should have been pass interference. Looking at the replays, the coverage was good while the ball was en route, and there was no illegal contact before the receiver tried to catch it. But there was defintitely defensive holding going into the end zone, and when the receiver was getting into position for the catch. In that situation, the result of both calls is the same.

 

Had the flag been thrown right away, I don't think there would be a lot of debate over it. But when Miami was the beneficiary of a PI call on their next possession, it was a late flag, thrown only when the receiver started gesturing and spasming for a flag to be thrown.

[Guest Angle Armbar]

This would have been so much easier if Gamble didn't drop the easy pass. Damn him.

 

McGahee has a torn ACL, and is doubtful to be ready for the beginning of next season. That could be a positive, since now he'll be staying in school all 4 years now. Well, looks like McGahee and Gore switch roles for next season.

[Guest Vern Gagne]

That was a bullshit call. Like Tom said what made it worse was the how long it took the ref to throw the flag.

 

Either way the Big 10 finished 5-2, and won the National Championship.

[Guest Blackston]

Some thoughts from Tempe.

 

God damn, Arizona is nice this time of year. Living in Ohio, I've grown accustomed to cold-ass winters, so it was a shock to me just how nice the west is during the winter monthes. Furthermore, Phoenix did a great job making the legions of Buckeye fans feeling welcome. From a "pep rally" held the day before, to a gigantic area setup for tailgating for fans of both teams.

 

The Buckeye nation showed up in full force. I am not completely sure how it turned out on television, but the Buckeye faithful were standing for every play, and generally made play calling difficult for Ken Dorsey and the Hurricanes. I would say that there were 85 Buckeye fans for every 15 Hurricanes, or so.

 

The pregame stuff was really well done, unfortunately the people watching on television didn't get to see it. The Miami and OSU bands both put on their traditional shows (OSU did the double script Ohio! It was a thing of beauty). There was also a group of precision parachuters that came into the stadium.

 

The game itself? God damn, what a game. It was a complete defensive struggle, which completely went against UM's gameplan. OSU managed to keep both McGahee and Johnson in check, for the most part... Unfortunately, Krenzel and Clarett for OSU didn't have a very productive day either, resulting in the relatively low score (for regulation). That game had everything that I could ever look for in a great game. False finishes, amazing fourth down conversions, comebacks from a sure loss... One thing that must be said is that this is the most dramatic championship game ever hosted by the Bowl Championship Series.

 

Willis McGahee... I feel really badly for that young man. I had seats that were sort of on the other side of the play, so I couldn't see just how badly McGahee's knee looked. I figured it was just a tweak of somesort. It wasn't until I saw the Buckeyes kneel down around him (which the television cameras didn't pick up) that I realized that something serious just occured. I pray for a full recovery for him, injuries like that are just horrible to see happen.

 

The pass interference call is probably the most controversial play in the game, and I am not sure where I stand on it. All game, the refs called the game VERY loosely, with all sorts of non-calls. I feel for Miami fans who feel that they were screwed when for one play the ref decided to call the game tighter. That said, I don't think that justice would have been served if Ohio State would have lost the national title on a play that, according to the rulebook, should be called a penalty (pass interference or defensive holding, take your pick). That fourth and three play in the first overtime will go down as one of the most controverisal calls in college football history.

 

The last overtime possession for Miami eerily resembled the first overtime possession of Ohio State. Both teams got stuffed on the ground in OT, before becoming recepients of a pass interference penalty in the endzone. Both teams started first and goal on the three. OSU opted to simply pound the ball in, and succeeded after three plays. Miami's approach was different. Instead of pounding it in, the Canes abandoned their run game. Even though it was impotent, I think the running game would have worked better then having a 75% (if that!) Ken Dorsey trying unsuccessfully to hit a wide open tight end. When Ken Dorsey dropped back to pass on fourth and one, I felt nothing but confidence the Bucks would hold.

 

What a game.

[Guest Vern Gagne]

Blackston. How was justice served for Miami, with that call. I saw no penatly on the play. In a situation like that the refs should let the play go.

[Guest Blackston]

I did not have the best of seats, but I had a view of the play that the television cameras did not pick up. It honestly appeared to me that Sharpe had a good grip on Gamble before the ball was in the air. That said, whatever holding did happen did not take the play away from Gamble, and he SHOULD have come down with that pass fairly easily. By no means was it pass interference, but in that situation, defensive holding would have been just as costly to the Canes. The great tragedy of the game is that even though it was one of the greatest football games ever played, it will always be remembered as a "tainted" victory for my Buckeyes.

[Guest Y2DAYDAY]

Miami got fucked, simple as that.

[Guest DrTom]

Miami got fucked, simple as that.

Miami fucked themselves. Three words: Fourth And Fourteen. If the defense holds OSU there and doesn't give up a ridiculous amount of yardage on fourth freaking down, the controversial call in the end zone never happens. I certainly think there was defensive holding on the play, but I've also seen that same play happen with no flag being thrown.

[Guest Spaceman Spiff]

The thing that bugs me about that penalty, is that the refs really hadn't made any calls all game (IIRC) other than obvious stuff like false start, offsides, delay of game. I saw a couple holds that could have been called on each team during regulation that weren't called.

 

And the quote from the ref kinda struck me as odd, where he said he didn't throw the flag immed. because he needed to replay the play in his head to determine whether it was a penalty. In that situation (or any situation), if a ref can't determine right away whether something is a penalty, don't throw the flag. By replaying the play in your head, you're opening yourself up to getting details wrong. If you don't throw the flag the instant you see the play, don't throw it at all.

[Guest DrTom]

I think the lateness of the flag is what bothers people. Had it been thrown right away, there wouldn't be such an outcry. The thing that bugs me about the situation (and about a lot of the criticism heaped on NFL officials) is the belief that "an official shouldn't decide the game." As the saying goes, if you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice. If an official sees a receiver getting mugged going for a ball late in the game, or a defensive player plow into a kicker in OT, and doesn't throw a flag... haven't they influenced the outcome of the game? A penalty is a penalty, whether it happens in the first minute of the game or at a key juncture in overtime.

[Guest El Satanico]

The decision to affect the end of the game is probably what took the ref so long to throw the flag.

 

He probably saw the penalty, but then started running over what impact his call or no call would have on the game and rather or not he wanted to be responsible for the game ending on his decision.

 

If it was a total bs call then fine Miami would've gotten screwed, but it was not clearly a bad call. It was a questionable call that wouldn't always be called. All the people that act like the play was totally clean and there was NO penalty to be called are insane. PI or defensive holding it would've still been a first down.

 

No I'm not being totally biased either. If i was being biased i wouldn't have said it was a qeustionable call that wouldn't always be called in a game.