By james art First Downs and Second Guesses:
Matt Ruhl did something amazing on Monday.
He talked about the refereeing in his weekly press conference. And they spoke.
Football coaches usually avoid the subject when asked. They may make faces. They might throw out a one-liner or a zinger.
Bring up the subject of refereeing and appeals against them? no thanks They don’t want to be fined. And let’s be honest, they don’t want to plant seeds in the officials’ heads that might come back to bite them.
But here was Ruhl, addressing a statement in which the Big Ten admitted it made a mistake in a crucial spot for Nebraska on Saturday at Ohio State. He turned to him and then.
Meanwhile, NU Athletic Director Troy Dannon sat in the interview room listening to Rhule’s press. Afterwards, Dannon and I chatted in the lobby of the Hawks Championship Center.
Dannon called Big Ten commissioner Tony Pettitte on Sunday to discuss the calls against Nebraska that seem to be trending. Pettiti apologized for the missed call. Dannen demanded that the league issue a statement admitting its mistake. Such statements are rare.
The whole thing is unusual. And it might be incredibly smart from Nebraska.
It’s not 2010 at Texas A&M. Seventeen penalties for Nebraska, which had one foot out the Big 12 door.
Years after that game, a former Big 12 official told me that those 17 penalties were no fluke. They were meant to be a send-off gift from the league.
Here in NU’s 14th year in the Big Ten, the Huskers have had their share of bad decisions. But I don’t think the league has a vendetta against NU. why the Big Ten needs Nebraska football to be right. Needs NU to get back in bowl business.
Dannon said the same, saying there was “no bias.”
Instead of saying woe to us, I liked Rühl and Dannen’s approach.
Rühl masterfully walked a tightrope in his answers. While he pointed out the calls he felt were incorrect, his message was empathetic to the officers.
Ruhl said, “I think one of the hardest jobs in the world right now is being an official” because of the constant presence of repetition.
“As an official, if I’m deciding the game, I’m deciding what’s going to happen if it’s overturned.”
Ruhl pointed out that because of a “controversial” offensive pass interference call in the Ohio State-Oregon game on Oct. 12, “there are all these highlights and all of a sudden we show up and get two OPIs.”
He also pointed out that last year NU had three replays against him and the next day the Big Ten called and said the replay was wrong.
Ruhl added: “I’m standing up for the officials. I think we should let them announce the matches and live with the result as we live with the results of the players.” He also said he would never complain about convictions.”
Dannen said his conversation with Pettiti was about what could be done going forward.
“It’s about putting these (officials) in a position to succeed,” Dannen said. “Are we training them right? Do we change the emphasis right in the middle of the season?’
Case in point: the different definitions of targeting and interference from game to game and league to league.
“This cannot be a sentencing debate,” Danen said. “You’re never going to win that debate with the conference or the national office. This is more of a consistency discussion.
“It’s the Michigan-Michigan State punt, the goal-line fumble and the Minnesota-USC replay. With the Big Ten being an elite level, how does the officiating measure up to the level of play we all expect?”
Dannon says the Big Ten has already had offseason conversations about officiating with coaches and officials. He believes it is time for the four major conferences to come together and agree on consistent standards.
Meanwhile, apologies don’t go back and erase penalties that have affected NU in games. But Dannon says the statement is “significant.”
“I think our athletes, our fans need to know that we’re fighting for this program any way we can,” Dannen said. “Arguing about officials in the media is not a good strategy for a coach or athletic director. But these conversations happen not only after the game, but also during the game – via text messages.
They happened Monday when Danen and Rule told Big Ten officials they were fighting for them, not against them.
I can’t wait to see the answer. It starts on Saturday.
Fans throw things
If a water bottle, beer or any debris comes out of the stands and onto the field, it should be an automatic 15-yard penalty against the home team.
Or, as the great Billy Tubbs once said to an upset crowd, “No matter how bad the officiating is, please don’t throw things on the court.”
Creighton Men’s Basketball Charity Exhibition
Highlights from Saturday night’s Creighton-Purdue:
There is every reason to believe that the Jays will be more potent offensively this season. Jackson McAndrew is Creighton’s next great player. Coach Greg McDermott may have to release more than eight players, at least early in the season.
Oh, and more, more, more of those charity exhibitions between power league teams. The atmosphere at CHI Health Center was electrifying.
Matt Kelly
A prayer please for Matt Kelly, a distinguished broadcaster, producer and photographer (KETV) who died last week aged 54. Kelly was Mr. Clutch, whether it was hitting the game-winning shot to lift Millard South to the 1989 Nebraska state tournament or getting the best camera shot at a Husker or Las Vegas Raiders game
Kelly had been battling cancer for the last few years, but was still the lion with a big heart who would do anything for you. I’ll always remember him at last year’s College World Series, being on the court in a CWS Hawaiian shirt. I miss her already.
One more and I’m out
I received this note from reader Mark Schramm:
“A lot of chatter about screen passes. How many fans were clamoring for all the options on the short side of the field in the 70’s/80’s? I don’t recall this OC having much success in the big games either…at the time. Remember you were one of those who questioned the ‘craziness’ of this.”
That “OC” was, of course, Tom Osborne. And time is certainly a flat circle.