The Big Ten Is Refusing To Acknowledge The Blown Call In The Michigan State/Nebraska Game Like A Real Conference Should

Wow. It doesn't look like he was forced out of bounds at all... Play was reviewed but it stands. pic.twitter.com/z7QzqKZFKS

— Dr. Saturday (@YahooDrSaturday) November 8, 2015

Yardbarker- “Per NCAA rules, the instant replay crew cannot review the severity of contact, as that is a judgment call handled by the officials on the field,” the Big Ten said in a statement to ESPN.com. “If the player went out of bounds without contact, he may not return to the field to make the catch unless it has been touched first by an opponent. The instant replay crew did confirm contact between the players, that the wide receiver reestablished himself in the field of play and completed the catch. After the replay review, the referee announced that the play stands as called on the field. The intent of instant replay is not to review all judgment calls.”


​Love it. Absolutely love it. Let me clarify. I love the Big Ten's stubbornness in refusing to admit that things were handled poorly. I definitely don't love the actual call. As a Rutgers fan, that stands next to no chance of ever being fully invested in a game of that magnitude, I would be scouring CraigsList looking for hitmen if this happened to my team. So yeah, I understand Michigan State's heartbreak, but they shouldn't expect any apologies from the Big Ten. Why, you ask? Because the Big Ten is a real conference, and like any smart, well managed governing body they will never admit wrongdoing. Why do you think the NFL is doing so well? It's certainly not because they are adept at handling precarious situations. 

Take notes ACC. If you include the ramifications this non-call for illegal touching had on the landscape of college football then this is an even more egregious than the hundreds of missed calls during Miami's game winning play against Duke. You think the B1G is sending out apology letters? Fuck no. Why would they? You just make up some ridiculous explanation that the referees can't judge  the "severity of contact" when dude clearly ran out of bounds by himself, take your lumps, and move on. Play dumb for like 24 hours and people will have already forgotten about it. That's how you handle controversy. If you succumb to public pressure like the ACC then you start sending out apologies to one team. Those apologies turn into more apologies towards the other team. The next thing you know up is down, left is right, and people are trying to overturn the result of a game TWO DAYS after it ended!

​You see what the B1G avoided by not worrying about anyone's feelings? That's how you run a business. That's how you become a respected power conference. Not by sending a bouquet of flowers and a box of chocolates every time you screw someone over. I'm not saying that something doesn't need to be done about the complete and utter lack of common sense in the officiating this season. I am saying that I am glad the conference I associate handles the aftermath of those shitty calls the right way. By completely ignoring that there are very blatant victims of those calls. The only reason anyone ever says sorry is to make THEMSELVES feel better, so why waste the time and effort if all it's going to do is get you more negative publicity?