Bo Pelini Admits That Huskers Were "Jobbed" at A&M
by Husker Mike on Jul 31, 2011 11:49 PM CDT
in Nebraska Husker Football
Email
PrintThe Omaha World-Herald's Tom Shatel got Bo Pelini to admit something that most Husker fans have surmised ever since the Huskers stormed off the field after a 9-6 loss to Texas A&M last November. In that game, Nebraska was flagged for 16 penalties, while A&M was only flagged for two. Let's put that in perspective: Ben Cotton got as many flags on one play as the entire Aggie squad the whole game. And of course, there was that horrific roughing the passer penalty that led to the winning field goal.
It's pretty much a universal conclusion that Courtney Osborne's "roughing the passer" penalty was one of the worst calls of 2010. But Shatel gets Pelini to admit that he was warned by the officials that something like this was coming:
Did the officials screw that call? Absolutely. Was it done intentionally? At this point, you certainly have to wonder about it, now that Pelini has leveled the charge. But that doesn't change the fact that Pelini's outbursts earlier in the game predicated the bad call. That's something Pelini seems to own. This admission by Pelini makes the Big XII officials look even worse, but it doesn't justify Pelini's actions in any way."Did any of those officials tell you during the game you were going to get jobbed?'' I asked.
"Yes,'' Pelini said.
What did they tell you?
"I won't say,'' he said. "But it was highway robbery. An absolute joke. I've moved on.''
So while you were yelling all night, were you sticking up for your players?
"No doubt,'' Pelini said. "I have their back. I always will. But if I had to do it over again, I would have done it different.''
I've long felt that Pelini is a work in progress as a head coach. He's a brilliant defensive mind, and a great motivator. But he's still rough around the edges, and that night in College Station, we saw a jagged edge sabotage the Huskers chances that night. I believe Bo continues to grow and learn how to be the head coach, and while we'll never see him as stoic or unflappable on the sideline, I think he'll learn to manage his anger on the sidelines. What works with his players doesn't work - and won't ever work - with the officials.
I do have one question about this admission. Typically, conference administrators take a dim view to any criticism of officiating, and leveling a charge like this against Greg Burks' crew would seem to draw the ire of the league office. But in this situation, who would take offense? Dan Beebe's authority expired one month ago, and would (or could) Jim Delany take action on something that occurred in another conference? My instinct is that neither party will pursue this going forward; I'm sure that Nebraska already leveled this charge through Big XII channels last November. (And judging from Dan Beebe's comments after the Colorado game, the Big XII likely didn't spend much, if any, time or effort looking into the situation.)
Did Bo go out of his way to bring this up? No...in fact, it was a response to a direct question. So I don't know that either conference commissioner would act on it. It would be interesting to get a comment from someone in the Big XII office though...
25 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
Yes.
Fuck the refs, but the image that most people across the nation took away from that game was Bo screaming at a re-injured Taylor Martinez. That game sucked in almost every conceivable way.
Why, Johnny Ringo, you look like someone just walked over your grave.
Conspiracy? Maybe. Sort of.
I think it might be more likely the refs were targeting Pelini for all of the verbal beat-downs he’d given them over the course of three seasons. In that sense there was a conspiracy, I suppose. I don’t think there was some sort of Beebe-Dodds war room setup where they plotted step-by-step to screw Nebraska.
I do think the refs rightly assumed the Big-12 would not come down on them no matter how blatantly biased their officiating was. The conference was not going to side with Nebraska on any issue at that point and the officials knew it.
I think that's probably pretty close to the truth.
In all the games last year where Husker fans had a serious problem with the officiating (Texas, Iowa State, A&M), it was the same crew, led by Greg Burks. They called 32 penalties on the Huskers and 9 on their opponents during those games. No one had any real problems with any of the Huskers’ other Big 12 games.
So it stands to reason that this was a problem limited to a single crew that had a personal distaste for Pelini – probably mostly because of his demeanor toward them – and apparently decided to take it out on him during the A&M game. It also helped that they knew the Big 12 wouldn’t care (Osborne said after the season that he asked for a different crew for the A&M game, and the conference refused), but this definitely wasn’t set up by the Big 12 or anything.
Completely unprofessional and inappropriate behavior on both sides during that game, and I really hope this is the last we hear of it.
by Cheeseandcorn on Aug 1, 2011 10:54 AM CDT up reply actions
A@M game
Regardless, if Bo would not have been such a hot head, the Refs.would have acted differently.
Probably not
Ben Cotton getting flagged TWICE for being a victim of sexually assault was early in the game. It wasn’t like that happened in the 4th quarter after Bo had been yelling all game.
They were out to screw us, and while Beebe may or may not have been behind it, they knew he’d do nothing about it.
It could be argued that Dan Beebe's authority expired long before last month.
Not to get political, but it seems to me his tenure is approaching the same level of FAIL as Michael Brown’s time with FEMA. I wish I could say what Bo said to Shatel surprises me, but it doesn’t. I’m excited to hear how positive things have been so far in the B1G, and even if we get our asses kicked this year, I’ll likely still be happier than I was when we had to deal with the Longhorns and their smug little lackey at conference HQ.
"I have never been noticeably reticent about talking on subjects about which I know nothing." Prince Phillip
you're
doing a heckuva job Beebe!
Go Big Red Nebraska!
Our Cobs Are Bigger Than Yours!
Corn Nation!
Twitter!
cornnation@gmail.com
by Jon Johnston on Aug 1, 2011 12:14 PM CDT up reply actions
What a bunch of crap
Maybe this kind of stuff goes on all of the time in sports, but if it does, every single person who does it should be fired. I don’t care what Pelini did or didn’t do. If the Refs didn’t like it, kick him out of the game, but don’t cheat.
I think there should be an investigation of what happened and some people need to start losing jobs over it. If the refs can’t handle what’s being said to them, then maybe they need to find a job that better meets their psychological needs. Again, I don’t care what was said or done. There is never an appropriate time to cheat a team out of a win – ever.
I don’t understand how this kind of crap goes on.
Wow.
I mean, we all knew we got screwed in that game, but to talk about it is another thing all together. Great article by Shatel, by the way. He may be super hokey, but he tries to get the story done right, and he did a good job of recanting some of the hate he spew at Bo after that game.
Also, great job by Bo admitting he probably should’ve handled the officials a bit differently. Like it or not, they are people to. They have more power than they should. Don’t make their lives hell.
Always check the words with the red squiggly line. They mean you probably screwed up.
For an official to take a game into their own hands and intentionally botch a call against any team for any reason is absolutely ludacris. There is NO excuse, regardless of what happened before in the game, to intentionally make the wrong call, and then to tell a coach that they are going to do it.
That game was the worst officialting I have ever seen, period. In over ten years of watching sports, that was the worst I have seen in any sport. No excuses…puts a bit of fact in the b12 conspiracy to get Nebraska.
Probably the worst thing about Burks and his crew...
…were the blatant attempts to injure left uncalled such as Klein’s head twist of Burkhead and Jerod-Eddie trying to get to 3rd base with Ben Cotton. It might be fair to say that they figured out they could pretty much get away with murder when the league didn’t suspend Klein despite his neck-twisting being right there for all to see from multiple camera angles.
While the game was certainly officiated in A&M's favor
with tons of no calls for A&M (No way they didn’t have one holding penalty), I dunno if Pelini should have mentioned anything, even now. Maybe its good for him to say something.
I did like the other bits of the article. And to be frank, Pelini is right, regardless of how many breakfasts he goes to, he will be disliked if he loses.
Google's homepage celebrates too much shit.
No offense, but I think too many people spend too much time analyzing the “work in progress” known as Bo Pelini! He is what he is. He is not going to be Tom Osborne. He is not going to be anyone else. He is an emotional coach that is going to light people up when he believes it is appropriate. I don’t know why people have become so concerned about his sideline demeanor! To say that he has cost the team a win is not accurate. Have the penalties he has been assessed put the team in a tough spot? Yep. But so have some many others that have been committed on the field by the players. Head coaches at the D-! level have become so bland with all of the PC speak that it isn’t even worth the time tuning in to what they have to say. Mike Leach, Pepper Rogers, Earle Bruce, Frank Kush, Woody, and the MIchigan Bo wore their emotions on their sleeves. They spoke from the heart, not from some media consultant hired to keep them from stepping on someone’s toes. Bo is Bo. He doesn’t have to evolve into someone else.
I don't think anyone is asking him to be Tom Osborne.
But he went a bit over the top that game. He basically admitted as such. Listen, I’m fine with coaches yelling at players, but there has to be some level of decorum.
Google's homepage celebrates too much shit.
Uh….has anyone acknowledged the fact that he makes this claim and backs it with no evidence?
“Did any of those officials tell you during the game you were going to get jobbed?’’ I asked.
“Yes,’’ Pelini said.
What did they tell you?
“I won’t say,’’ he said.
He’s say they told him they were being cheated but he won’t back it up with what he was told. When you play a dirty game, expect the laundry to match. Here endeth the lesson.
Come on, man
If you’re gonna troll, troll hard or go home. Weak first effort.
by Cheeseandcorn on Aug 1, 2011 10:57 PM CDT up reply actions
Gotta love
people who join just to troll.
Why, Johnny Ringo, you look like someone just walked over your grave.
16-2
There’s your evidence. There’s your scoreboard.
by Husker Mike on Aug 1, 2011 11:54 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
What a loser
Bo Pelini is a loser and I think its hilarious that he doesnt, or CANT site directly what the refs told him, and Im pretty sure he is making all this up. Losers make excuses for themselves when they lose, and that is what Bo Pelini is doing, being a loser. I hope he doesnt act like this in the big 10 and make a fool out of the Nebraska once again like he and his brother have in the big 12. GET OUTTA HERE WITH YOUR WHINING!
Huskers
And I love how you Huskers believe EVERYTHING. Bo Pelini might as well be Hitler and the refs be the jews.
I wonder ...
… if CN will be trolled more, or less this season now that NU has moved to the B1G. I guess more since the XII winners just can’t let go of their hate.
Seriously, I wish the XII types would go away so there will be enough room here for some fresh intelligent hate from our new B1G friends.
I was at that game....
I mean one bad call is ok i guess… but when there are numerous bad calls in arow… i won’t lie in the Big 12 championship game we lost that game… and the Washington game we never showed up… But no doubt in my mind the A&M game was fixed…
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on Corn Nation
Related FanShots on Corn Nation
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
SHOP THE CORN NATION STORE
FanShots
Quick hits of video, photos, quotes, chats, links and lists that you find around the web.
Recent FanShots
