Michigan vs Everybody (including the Officials)
It sucks to lose on the last play (Kordell tipped Hail Mary to Westbrook, Harry Oliver 51 yard FG for ND, “He has trouble with the snap.” Uggh!
But it really sucks when the officials screw it up for Michigan. Here’s my list when the good guys could clearly say “We wuz robbed!!”
1. JT Barrett spot 2016 UM-OSU
2. Charles White Phantom TD 1979 Rose Bowl UM-USC
3. Desmond PI no call, 2 point try 1990 MSU-UM
4. Sparty Bob Clock Interference 2001 UM-MSU
5. Ojabo/Hutchinson strip sack/TD reversal 2021 UM-MSU
6. Roman Wilson TD reversal 2022 NC Semi TCU-UM
7. Mike Lantry 33 yard FGA called “No Good” 1974 UM-OSU
8. Nebraska players on field no call 2005 Alamo Bowl NU-UM
9. Chris Stapleton 24 yard fake punt called back for holding ( by my high school history teacher from Burien, WA) 1990 Rose Bowl USC-UM (Bo’s last game)
10. TCU targeting no call end of game 2022 NC Semi TCU-UM
Honorable Mention: Michigan not playing and “We still wuz robbed!!”
Flea Kicker 1997 NU- Mizzou
Phantom PI call against Miami 2003 NC OSU-YTM
Did I leave out any particularly grievous offenses against the Champions of the West?
Nebraska intentional kick that resulted in a td. that led them to beating Colorado (I think) and ultimately a share in the national title.
edit: just realized you covered that with “flea kicker” and it was against mizzou.
That was ridiculous. And how to you have a rule about an "intentional" kick? What are refs, mind readers? If you kick the ball to yourself or someone else, period, it should not be a catch (unless it's the other team). Then there is no need for the ref to infer intent. It is so rare that you're certainly not going to screw anyone over by classifying all those unintentional kicks to catches as incomplete. But you will eliminate any possibility of cheating.
I always fancied the name “kick-six” for the Frosty special
I believe that's the name given to the auburn missed field goal returned for a game winning TD vs Bama
I must say, as someone who spends a fair amount of time travelling around, that, this post notwithstanding, Michigan is an also ran at harboring and cataloging resentments. Need I point any further than 65 miles to the northwest. Or, and trust me on this, College Station, Texas.
This was on November 9, 1997 - the very day that #4 Michigan went to #2 undefeated Penn State in Happy Valley and absolutely curb stomped the Nittany Lions 34-0 (yes, I know it was 34-8 at the end, as Curtis p-Enis had a garbage last-min TD against 3rd string).
Nebraska absolutely survives a 7-5 team on a fluke kick-up - on 4th down - on an expiring game clock to send the game to OT. At the same time, Michigan hands Joe Pa his worst home loss in his 32-year career, as a #2 undefeated natty favorite to boot.
This is what catapulted Michigan to the undisputed #1 ranking in ALL polls from that week on - until the Osborne retirement waterworks miraculously incredulously changed the final coaches poll vote to 34-32 Nebraska (Michigan unquestionably won the AP going away), and ushered in the BCS (emphasis on first/last letter of acronym) prior to the CFP.
Word is Scott Frost was showing up to practice drunk by the end of his coaching tenure in Lincoln.
No evidence that his Mom wrote a strongly worded letter to Trev Alberts (Nebraska AD) defending her “Scotty.”
I satisfied enough to say that the true national champion that year didn't require an overtime game to go undefeated.
I saw someone in LA the other day wearing a "Cleveland vs. Everybody" hoodie. Made me laugh. Apparently some Cleveland folk appropriated the "Detroit vs. Everybody" thing.
On a larger scale, I think that everyone thinks the world is against them. The Illimunati, they may be real.
Everyone has appropriated it. You can even buy a “New York vs. Everybody” t-shirt if your delusion is great enough.
It may not be a popular opinion here, but I'm not sure the JT play was as egregious a call as most on that list. It is essentially too close to call for an improper system of a bunch of middle-aged dudes with day jobs watching a full-speed sport and marking the progress of a ball with their eyes, then running in to place that ball. Had that same call gone against us, but we were on offense, I think we would have been just as outraged. The refs had at least 10 far worse calls in that game, the most consequentially egregious to me being the PI on Delano Hill late to give OSU a first down on their tying drive, on a 3rd and 10, and then not returning the favor when the exact same "interference" happened to our receiver in OT. Those, along with Peppers not setting the edge when Samuel reversed field on 2nd 15, getting 14 yards when he should have been tackled for a 10-yard loss, cost us the game.
But…..they didn’t even measure it
Measuring was pointless in that case, given the drive/series of downs began at exactly the U-M 25. The head ref already knew based on the spot.
I wanted him to be short as much as anybody here...but even this site had maths showing it couldn't be overturned. We lost that one...the other calls in that game were the issues that cant be forgiven.
Don’t sell the refs short, they’re tremendous slouches.
Well played
I was going to post the same thing. That was a great list, and many I had forgotten (and winced when recalling), but that one never seemed like an injustice to me in the same way that the others did. (Which is not to say it wasn't incredibly painful, obviously).
But man, the others .... I still think that Desmond pass interference call potentially took a national championship away from us. Yes, we lost another game (by one point, the very next week), but you can't tell me we weren't still deflated by that terrible call.
I mean, I knew even at the time what was happening. The ref thought he'd catch it anyway, didn't see a point to throwing the flag, and by the time he realized what had happened it was too late to do the right thing. But oh my, that call hurt.
In fairness, had it been called doesn't suddenly award us the 2 points. It just gives us a redo from the 1.5 yard line. Still maybe a 60/40 proposition that we get it, but not a certain W.
I agree. I also think refs generally give favorable spots to the offense in such situations.
No live ball penalties against the Buckeyes. Never forget.
You absolutely nailed it here. That BS happened around with about 6 minutes left in the game and Michigan up 2 scores. Michigan gets the ball back and chew down the clock. The rest most likely never happens. I just not let that call go…
It was atrocious. Late flag that seemed like the ref responding to boos from the crowd. Hill arrived right on time for a ball that was uncatchable (like most of Barrett's throws). Same exact play happened to our WR 10 minutes later, no call = FG in OT = Loss. OSU perpetrated literally the exact same defensive move, coming from behind right as the ball arrived. Even the commentators noted the unfairness. The good thing is that OSU went on to shit the bed against Clemson, and a mere 6 years later we'd have a video of Urban doing a digital rectal exam on a bar stool on not his wife.
The JT call wasn't getting reversed. However, it was the culmination of the many other calls that were egregious. The play before that they ignored holding, block in the back and a late hit after the play by an osu player again. Any of which, 10yd penalty, replay 3rd down and now it's 3rd and ridiculous. Not 4th and 1.. What makes me even more angry is Don Brown spent all that time during the review waiting for a call rather than rallying the team to get that stop....
Won't embed, but here's the lowlights of the officiating from that mess:
https://www.facebook.com/johnathon.wylie/videos/10156553206080303/?idorvanity=714797112042103
The Charles White Rose Bowl TD/fumble was worse as it was obvious, not a judgement call like a rushing spot.
I was at that Rose Bowl game in 1990. It was a terrible call and learning more about it later was fuel on the fire of my hatred for bad officials. Hope that guy was a better history teacher because he sucked as a ref. Fellas and gals, that was 33 years ago and it still burns.
Go Blue!
33 years ago. If it's any consolation, he may be dead by now.
That is always a consolation.
greg robinson (YTGR) pointed that official out before the game and told me that he was a 'USC suckass' and to expect a bad call. he was dead-on in that prophecy.
Yes, Virginia. Gerg would very well know "suck-ass".
Greg was a friend, a super bowl winner, put in an impossible position in Michigan when he showed up with only 28 scholarship players on the defensive side of the ball and mandated to run a 335 defense, per rich rid.
he passed away last year.
Sorry to insult your friend. RIP.
I appreciate your graciousness. He gets dumped on a lot around here but very few know the untenable position he was put in. Rich rod was also the reason the OC left
The only way the guy could have been a known USC Suckwald would have been if the crew were PAC 10 refs. Were they? Because I thought bowls never used refs from the representative conferences. Seems like an apocryphal memory to me.
Also, I just watched a replay. While a fairly soft call, it's definitely on the margin of holding. Our guy def impedes progress with nothing but his arm in front of the guy. Now, that doesn't get called as much as it does, but still, it's not an abomination of a call, it's just soft. Sadly, probably didn't influence the play at all. The little things.
Me too. My first Rose Bowl. Such a stunning play call, such an amazing play. But I saw the flag go up immediately, which was a gut punch.
Not nearly as consequential as the ones you mention, but the holding call on Karan Higdon against NW in 2018 was absolutely nuts. He takes a fake handoff, gets tackled, and then called for holding.
There should be some avenue to protest or review such egregious calls.
Or forced retirement? Idk, you get that confused you throw that flag and then don't have the wherewithal to pick it up? (Can blame the crew for that too, nobody was able to tell him he saw it wrong?)
How can you ever ref another game? Or at least take the rest of the season off if you aren't getting enough sleep to avoid hallucinations? Go to the doctor and get a head scan after that?
Probably the absolute worst call I've ever seen a ref make in any sport, especially considering there was just no reason to call anything at all. A lot of the worst calls of all time are when the referee is forced to call something and chooses wrong. This was just like "hey let me throw my flag for no reason at all and hallucinate a penalty." Sorry I can't get over it.
"There should be some avenue to protest or review such egregious calls."
You're posting on it, now.
They go the other way too, of course. That interference call against Nebraska with 15 seconds left in the first half in 2021 was ... um ... awesome. :-)
Shhhhhhhhh!
I remember I was at this game and I turn to my friend “did they call that on #22? I’m still kinda drunk but I’m pretty sure Karan was being tackled as Shea pulled the ball.” Of course they didn’t show the replay in stadium so I had to pull out Twitter to make sure I wasn’t crazy
Harbaugh ripped some officials post game presser either 2015 or 2016 and it was said he was going to pay for that one for a long time.. After the 2018 holding call on Higdon, yet another message by officials to Harbaugh/Michigan Warde stated it was time he handle the matter and said that to Harbaugh prior to the press conference at the end of the NW game.
That call negated a 22yd gain for a first down with 11 minutes left in the 4th qtr and Michigan down by 4pts. We pulled that game out, but another call could have been made to negate a 1st down again by that crew. The point, fans thinking it’s all in your head and officials don’t control the outcome of games ignore lots of calls at critical points in the game. It isn’t the obvious calls, that’s self inflicted.
What about the INT where our DB didn’t touch the wr Claypool for ND a year later at home annd was called for PI…. Like WTF, replays showed they didn’t touché the rec…
2021 vs Msu, we all know the strip sack fumble td overturned. Points. Nobody talks about a crack back block in the back by msu on Hutch, he was responsible for the cutback. Instead he’s hit from behind in the back and Walker goes for a TD. That is two scores in that game… That didn’t touch a bunch of other bs calls that game. And that is also why all of the top analysts said Michigan is the better team after the game, they all knew!
Going back to 2016 Osu, the video shows so many missed calls and intentional no callls. Like our rec getting tackled with the ball in the air and Joel Klatt on the broadcast saying what is going on here, live on air they didn’t cut the sound.. There was so much more to say but it’s not worth going over…
Somehow, same head official did the M-OSU game this year and I think the only questionable calls were the non-fumble when the game was basically decided and maybe the PI on Bell. The PI may have been correct by the letter of the law, but I was still surprised the flag got thrown.
Most, if not every, fanbase thinks they are unjustly punished by the refs.
Fair enough. There was an Mgoblog poster that posted a spreadsheet of bigten teams penalties for and against in comparison to Michigan. A crazy amount of work and research to do, but posted the results which were eye opening
https://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/michigan-still-far-outlier-opp-offensive-holding-penalties
"Trouble With The Snap" has the most egregious non-called "Roughing the Snapper" Penalty in CFB history.
That game also had the targeting call against Joe Bolden, when he only hit the player because he was pushed from behind by a sparty player.
You must enjoy getting your balls kicked over and over again, eh? Bad enough to live through it once - sure is great to rehash it!
Yeah, forget about all this nonsense. We are going to become 12 time national champions come January 2024
All terrible, but when I think of the worst call in history I only think of Jim Joyce.