After a devastating 56-7 loss to the Indiana Hoosiers, the Nebraska Cornhuskers bounced back in Big Ten play by giving the No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes everything they could handle.
Despite being the largest underdog in college football, the Huskers managed to give themselves a chance, only losing 21-17 with an opportunity to score a game-winning touchdown on the last drive of the game. Fans of both sides thought the officiating left a lot to be desired. Now, the Big Ten has decided to come out and say those fans were right.
The Big Ten released a statement on the officiating during the Nebraska Cornhuskers-Ohio State Buckeyes matchup
Several officiating blunders were called out by fans of both teams during Saturday’s Big Noon Kickoff game between the Buckeyes and the Huskers. Ohio State fans were so upset with officials that they began hurling things onto the field, causing the cheerleaders to run for cover.
Ohio State warned fans to stop throwing trash on the field after a controversial targeting call toward the end of the game with Nebraska on Saturday. https://t.co/OAvhnIi91p
— 10TV (@10TV) October 26, 2024
Nebraska fans were so upset with the officiating, that they’ve compiled a viral social media video that illustrates the shortcomings of the officials during Saturday’s game.
What a video
All of the HORRIFIC calls by the officiating in the Nebraska vs Ohio State game
Never want to put the game in the hands of the referees but this s**t is crazy pic.twitter.com/Wypy4cuboo
— Will Compton (@_willcompton) October 29, 2024
The Big Ten released a statement that was quoted in the Daily Nebraskan. The call they acknowledged, which was outlined in the video made by Husker faithful, was an egregious misspot on what was a clear first down for the Huskers. It appeared as if the official thought another Nebraska player was the one with the ball, but the Huskers were not given the first down.
“During Nebraska’s final drive of the first half, on second down with two yards to gain on the Ohio State 39-yard line, the ball was incorrectly spotted after a run by Cornhusker RB Emmett Johnson. The ball carrier crossed the 37-yard line and a first down should have been awarded to Nebraska. Replay should have stopped the game to review the spot since it involved the line-to-gain.”
The Big Ten apologized. Now what?
The conference came out and admitted that the officials on the field made the wrong call and that Nebraska was wronged in a potential program-altering matchup against a Big Ten powerhouse. What does that mean for Nebraska?
The fans who managed to spot the poor call when it happened live, which was anyone with eyes, now get to be proven right a day after the loss. Nebraska is still 5-3 and Ohio State is still a Top Five team in the polls as they head off to Happy Valley to take on the now-higher-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions.
There is no accountability for the people that are making these poor calls. As head coach Matt Rhule said in the same Daily Nebraskan article, the Sunday apology is irrelevant.
“I don’t want any more apologies on Sundays. It can’t happen against UCLA. It can’t happen against Iowa… It can’t keep happening to us.” said Rhule.
If the after-the-fact statements actually came with action and accountability, they might mean something to the teams that are affected by poor officiating, which seems to be every team at this point.
The most egregious version of this is something like the missed call in the NFC Championship game between the New Orleans Saints and the Los Angeles Rams at the end of the 2018 season.
The refs missed a blatant pass interference call against my Saints to help Jared Goff get to the Super Bowl
The refs missed another one tonight to help Jared Goff try to get back to the Super Bowl
Karma finally caught the Rams 😂 #LARvsDET pic.twitter.com/GfkeZMKwS2
— Dr. Jeremiah Emmanuel (@JeremmanuelPhD) January 15, 2024
This play put a microscope on bad officiating in one of the biggest NFL games of the year. The call, which would’ve been harshly criticized at any point during any game in the season, came at the end of a game that everyone in the football world was watching.
Everyone knows the call was missed, yet the Rams got to go to the Super Bowl in a franchise-altering season that helped them make it back and win the Super Bowl just a few years later.
The Saints saw their iconic legendary quarterback Drew Brees stripped of a chance to get one last attempt at a Super Bowl near the end of his career. Even though everyone knows the call was missed, the Saints just had to deal with it.
The loss was the closest they’ve been to a Super Bowl since they won one in 2009. Since the departure of head coach Sean Payton and Drew Brees in 2021 and 2020 respectively, the Saints have failed to win more than nine games in a season.
Missed calls like that don’t only have the ability to affect the outcome of plays, they have the ability to affect the outcome of drives. If they can affect drives, they can affect games and if they can affect games, they can alter the courses of franchises and programs.
Officials can’t be perfect, but they have no incentive to even be good at what they do. That lack of accountability can be considered directly responsible for the decimation of franchises, programs and careers. Yet, a simple apology after the fact is expected to make everything alright in the eyes of the Big Ten.
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