Crazy End to the Wisconsin Game
I don't know how to embed videos, so here's the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-ELRub8n7s&feature=youtu.be
What in God's name happened here? Was this an enormous screw up from the officiating crew or just awful game management by the Badgers? I'm not sure I have ever seen an ending that bizarre.
September 15th, 2013 at 12:20 PM ^
HEY WISCONSIN HOLD ONTO A FUCKING TIMEOUT!!!!!!!! what i would love to know is how the three timeouts were used in both games. 12 in the huddle, qb wasn't paying attention to play clock....
September 15th, 2013 at 4:28 PM ^
Taking the timeouts while your opponent is driving is statistically better than saving them up for when you're driving. If you're out of timeouts you get to hurry up, spike, ect. Your oponent isn't going to do that for you so you end up with more seconds of play if you burn all of them on your opponent's last drive.
Some coaches have caught up to this fact but most coaches' metagaming is still back in the stone age because of the way promotions happen within the coaching world.
September 15th, 2013 at 2:29 AM ^
should have kicked it the play before, but that doesn't excuse that unreal display by the officials. Allowed an ASU player to lay on the ball for 10 or seconds, without making any attempt to spot it knowing Wisky needs to spike it. Pee-wee level officiating, and than they run off the field like cowards acting as if they didn't just screw up royally.
I thought at first that Stave may have placed the ball before taking a knee, but he did in fact take a knee first. Not like the refs were ruling it a fumble either, so there is no reason not to spot it.
Just a ridiculous display.
September 15th, 2013 at 2:52 AM ^
I just watched the melt footage fed from the broadcast truck and on one of the angles with about 10s left in the game you can see Stave tell the head ref repeatedly that they want to spike the ball. And you can see the ref acknowledge them. Now what the other guy was doing allowing the ASU player to just lay on the ball is beyond me. That's the guy that screwed Wisky.
September 15th, 2013 at 9:38 AM ^
What was he thinking? The clock does not stop when the QB is down. Has to be an incomplete pass.
September 15th, 2013 at 9:50 AM ^
September 15th, 2013 at 9:59 AM ^
clock was still running. Look at his reaction when he looks up and sees the clock is still running.
September 15th, 2013 at 10:32 AM ^
He was surprised because ASU players were piled up on the ball and the official was doing nothing to clear the pile and not stopping the clock in the face of obvious delaying tactics. He got up ready to clock it, but wasn't given the opportunity because his linemen couldn't line up.
September 15th, 2013 at 11:54 AM ^
i'm guessing the umpire (who places the ball) thought that the play may have been a fumble, if he didn't see the QB take a knee. I didn't see him take the knee during live play. However, the Referee was clearly calling it down and Wisky ball. The Referee should have taken control and told the Umpire to spot the ball for Wisky but didn't. I blame the head Referee. In any case, it's way too risky for Wisky to try that play with no timeouts. the angle for the kick doesn't mean that much from that distance.
September 15th, 2013 at 2:28 AM ^
September 15th, 2013 at 2:28 AM ^
Wisco got jobbed there. But the QB should have taken a knee and gotten the ball to the ref right away. I don't know what the hell he did there.
September 15th, 2013 at 2:30 AM ^
strange, he did in fact take a knee prior to placing the ball.
September 15th, 2013 at 4:19 AM ^
If not, it'd have been ASU ball anyway, no?
September 15th, 2013 at 4:48 AM ^
a couple people in the thread said he did when they replayed it. That was also clearly the ruling on the field since the refs didn't signal it was ASU ball. Also why would it be ASU ball with a kneel? It wasn't 4th down.
September 15th, 2013 at 10:35 AM ^
It's weird - on the video, it doesn't look like he ever goes down. I guess he maybe should have stayed kneeling for a second or two longer. And he definitely shouldn't have tried to spot the ball himself. Watching the video replay, it looks like he just rolls left and sets the ball on the ground, which would be a fumble.
September 15th, 2013 at 12:21 PM ^
Case in point: victory formation.
Refs biffed it, but Wiscy took a stupid risk.
September 15th, 2013 at 2:49 PM ^
Wisconsin had 15 seconds to spike the ball, that is plenty of time. In a game where the referees don't let ASU players lay on the ball for ten seconds and then make Wiscy players wait that play call is fine.
September 15th, 2013 at 2:50 AM ^
Exactly. The correct way to manage that situation as a QB is to take a knee and hand the ball directly to the ref so that he can immediately spot the ball and you can spike it with time remaining for the FG. Not sure why he spotted the ball himself, allowing the ASU DT to cover it as the clock ran out. Probably should have been a flag for delay of game called on ASU.
September 15th, 2013 at 2:29 AM ^
September 15th, 2013 at 2:32 AM ^
have been a delay of game. ASU player was laying on the ball refusing to move, knowing it was eating away the clock. Ref should have gotten him off the ball immediately, considering it wasn't being ruled a fumble.
September 16th, 2013 at 4:21 AM ^
I don't think delay of game would have been the right call, but the refs should definitely have stopped the clock until the ASU players got off the ball.
September 15th, 2013 at 2:30 AM ^
That said, Wisky was pretty laggardly getting lined up when they should have known they needed to spike. But I think they get the spike in time if the ref isn't waving them off till the clock hits 1.
September 15th, 2013 at 2:51 AM ^
It was going to be close regardless as you can no longer spike the ball inside 3 seconds.
September 15th, 2013 at 9:00 AM ^
September 15th, 2013 at 10:09 AM ^
Ask Ryan Leaf, if you can find what bridge he's living under now.
September 15th, 2013 at 11:57 AM ^
He should have had 10 seconds to spike the ball.
September 15th, 2013 at 9:02 AM ^
I dunno. It's difficult to get lined up on the ball when the officials are first letting the ASU players play around with it for so long and then literally stopping Wisco players from touching it (watch the ref holding up his hand, telling the Wisco center to wait). It seems to me that Wisco got jobbed here pretty bad.
And the loss here only makes the big ten look even worse--they can do that themselves, they certainly don't need the refs to help.
September 15th, 2013 at 2:31 AM ^
September 15th, 2013 at 2:31 AM ^
It was both bad game management by the Badgers and an epic screw job. If someone fails to get set on your spike attempt, the game is over. That risk is greater than getting Stanford Band'd.
And then just holy shit officials.
September 15th, 2013 at 11:52 AM ^
There's a reason the maxim "Don't put yourself in a position where the refs can cost you the game" exists.
September 16th, 2013 at 4:23 AM ^
Well then according to that maxim, don't ever play a game with refs...
September 15th, 2013 at 2:32 AM ^
That being said, I can't wait to hear the PAC-12 officiating commission explain what his crew did. Clearly a delay of game by the ASU defender which wasnt called plus the Ump denied Wisconsins ability to spike the ball. Utter chaos.
BIG TEN!!!'
September 15th, 2013 at 2:35 AM ^
that certainly makes things less dubious or not.
September 15th, 2013 at 2:35 AM ^
September 15th, 2013 at 2:32 AM ^
junk job by the refs
September 15th, 2013 at 2:36 AM ^
Yeah in season the Badgers have pissed me off to no end in recent years. This was horrendous and the Big Ten should file a complaint. It was clear Wisconsin should have had a chance at a potential game winning field goal.
Just absolute garbage and those refs need to join the refs from the Texas Tech game and go back to Pee Wee where they belong. This is big boys football and the players, coaches, and fans deserve better than this atrocity.
Like I said before just the perfect capper to this day in college football.
As somebody else said at least we're not Texas.
Good luck Longhorns fans with Gerg and his beaver. He's not a bad guy or anything but he doesn't seem to have any schematic advantages coaching defenses.
September 15th, 2013 at 8:46 AM ^
Too soon.
September 15th, 2013 at 10:51 AM ^
Yup, still bothers me too.
September 15th, 2013 at 8:52 AM ^
To be fair, the Pac 12 refs got the call in that picture right, but were overruled by Big Ten ref Gil Marchman.
September 15th, 2013 at 2:38 AM ^
I'm not sure if he got his knee down or not. Right as he's kneeling he gets bumped by his lineman.
Regardless, they should've rushed to the line and got set for the spike even if the ASU guy was on the ball.
September 15th, 2013 at 4:45 AM ^
until the official had spotted it and signaled that it was in play. The ref was actually signaling for Wisconson to stay back. The ref wasn't making an effort with any urgency to spot it in time, and the offense can't actually get over the ball until that happens.
September 15th, 2013 at 2:44 AM ^
PAC......12.....refs.......are......awful.
September 15th, 2013 at 2:48 AM ^
September 15th, 2013 at 2:48 AM ^
September 15th, 2013 at 2:56 AM ^
The whole gamble to center the ball with no timeouts is just stupid. Right before the play the announcer even says "its risky and there's a lot of things that can go wrong." You need a FG to win, you have a great drive to get in range, so just kick the FG. Wisky outsmarted themselves.
September 15th, 2013 at 11:57 AM ^
I agree with you, but I see why they did it. High-angle field goals from short distance aren't as easy as you might think.