Past 2 SEASONS of B1G Conference: Michigan's Opponents Penalized Only Twice for Offensive Holding
This is a crazy update from Maizen's thread (here) now that we're at the end of the season.
The latest version of the report (linked here) is from a 247 article, with original info coming from Toronto Sun columnist John Kyrk.
I mean, yikes. This should at least raise some eyebrows.
Edit: Title was worded improperly. Please see the comments below for more information.
November 28th, 2017 at 10:22 AM ^
That was incredibly frustrating when I watched B1G 60 replay of the game. The initial spot was hilariously bad but I guess the ref had a bad angle. But the replay was clear as day and it was shocking that they still fucked it up. I'm also pretty sure they said it was "confirmed" instead of "stands" which is also mindboggling. There was only 30 seconds left at that point but a few more plays gets Michigan into Nordin's range for an FG as the half expires. So frustrating.
November 28th, 2017 at 11:10 AM ^
Exactly. Blows my fucking mind. Millions of people watch the replay around the world and I guarantee we all saw the same review. The ball was past the first down marker and then his foot touched the white paint and was out of bounds. That was the exact and definite sequence of events. The other one that cooked my noodle was the bucnut special team player on that punt return that was at a full sprint and smoked the Michigan player right in the back. Michigan player does that and it's an instant personal foul. Fuck this shit.
November 28th, 2017 at 12:12 PM ^
Saw my good friend that night (OSU fan who grew up in Columbus) and that was the first thing he mentioned. He was in shock at how bad that call was and that they upheld it.
November 28th, 2017 at 9:13 AM ^
What are the odds he's already aware and raising hell about it?
November 28th, 2017 at 9:23 AM ^
Not good, Bob. The last Michigan AD with the personality to "Raise hell" was Don Canham.
November 28th, 2017 at 9:21 AM ^
November 28th, 2017 at 10:25 AM ^
Could you please explain why the word order matters, here?
November 28th, 2017 at 1:04 PM ^
November 28th, 2017 at 3:35 PM ^
Thanks a bunch. That makes sense.
November 28th, 2017 at 9:22 AM ^
Delaney and his ass clowns trying to make puppets out of the BIG schools. It would be funny if Mich threatened to leave the conference. He would probably panic thinking about the money he would lose.
..........Sorry, I was just daydreaming.
November 28th, 2017 at 11:15 AM ^
It should be brought up to them. Think about the money that goes into the Michigan football program to make it go. Think about the money Michigan makes the B1G. You guys are going to allow the refs to hinder it's success year after year? Fear is great motivator. Especially when you're dealing with these spineless fuckheads. Demand an end to this crap.
November 28th, 2017 at 9:24 AM ^
And what the hell Academy Sports?! I don't want to buy a fucking fire-pit. Everytime I click on anything on the site it takes me to their site. Haha
November 28th, 2017 at 9:40 AM ^
Neg away, I'm ready for it.
This info is wrong and everyone using it should feel bad.
MSU alone has been called for 3 holding penalties against Michigan in the last two years. 2 of them ended up being declined.
OSU was called for a hold on the 4th down punt DPJ returned. I could see why that'd be excluded for this article I guess, but now we're up to 4 holding calls.
And that was just in the 4 MSU/OSU games. I bet if I looked at a Rtugers game I'd find some more holding call that were declined.
November 28th, 2017 at 9:54 AM ^
I think Kryk's analysis looked at holding for pass plays. He stated that he reviewed the play by play box scores for all of the games (UM, Wisc, OSU, and PSU) for the past two years. He stated he may have missed 1 or 2, but not a significant number. One of the holding calls against MSU this year was on a QB run.
November 28th, 2017 at 9:41 AM ^
John was on with Sam this morning. It's up on the podcast and a good listen - he seems to somewhat convey that Big10 officiating is terrbile across the board, but worse in Michigan's case.
November 28th, 2017 at 1:06 PM ^
I'm not sure this is a conspiracy necessarily, especially because B1G officiating seems to suck across the board (there were lots of other bogus calls/non-calls on Saturday that had nothing to do with holding). Plus, B1G basketball officiating is also horrendous.
BUT, on the other hand, I wouldn't be surprised if there were some shenanigans going on with B1G games which would be a mega-scandal. Other sports like international soccer and pro tennis have had match-fixing controversies so I wouldn't be surprised if college football, which is notoriously corrupt in other ways, also dabbled in it.
I always knew something was up with NBA officiating in the late 90s and early 2000s. I just knew it. And lo and behold years later a crooked ref came out and said the league was fixing games and entire playoff series for the Lakers. Can't say I was totally surprised.
Until something like that comes out, however, I'll chalk this up to standard B1G incompetence.
November 28th, 2017 at 9:44 AM ^
There needs to be an active public stink about this. It would be ugly, but in the long run, it would be worth it. We are getting royally screwed, and that is obvious both with the eyeball test and with the statstics that show our opponents never getting called for penalties. If we had sucky athletes who never won one-on-one matchups with their guys that might explain it, but we don't. We have D-linemen who consistently whip their guys and then get hog tied or dragged down with no call.
It's not just the close games where this happens. We had a TD called off the board against Florida. We had another one called off the board against Air Force. Both of those were "Refs -4" type calls. I'm so sick of hearing that the officiating is just "inconsistent" or "bad for both sides". When have our opponents ever gotten screwed like this? The last time that I can remember was Brandon Minor's TD against MSU. Nine years ago we got a "Refs +4" call. Yay. I guess that the Penn State linebacker getting ejected last year was pretty close to being that bad, but we have had at least three or four bullshit targeting calls go against us to more than make up for it.
The refs have been spotting our opponents 7-10 points in about a half dozen games a year since Harbaugh took over. In four or five games a year the officiating is legitimately even, and then maybe we get one game a year where our opponent legitimately gets hosed (e.g. last year against Penn State or this year against Purdue IMHO).
I don't care what it takes at this point. A press conference. A private meeting. I don't care if coach Harbaugh has to eat a fine. i don't care if it looks like whining. This bullshit has got to stop.
November 28th, 2017 at 9:54 AM ^
November 28th, 2017 at 10:33 AM ^
I would love to see if Michigan gets into a position for the CFP next year if the calls start going their way. While it would be nice to get some calls for a change - I have to say - I'll probably get more suspicious of what's going on.
November 28th, 2017 at 10:10 AM ^
If the statistics are right, that is amazing considering the number of type defensive linemen and we had Jabril Peppers blitzing a lot.
That is clearly statisitically unlikely without bias.
November 28th, 2017 at 10:22 AM ^
The missed holding calls were frustrating enough but you had back-to-back missed block in the back calls on punt returns by OSU as they were mounting a comeback. The second missed block in the back call was so egregious that Jim Harbaugh was on camera yelling about it. The first time all season that I have seen Harbaugh that fired up over a non-call.
I am sick of fans laying into other fans about complaints concerning officiating. If either team makes a mistake on the field regarding their play then negative consequences ensue. What consequences are suffered by the officials for cosistent errors?
November 28th, 2017 at 10:31 AM ^
That second one was shocking. Right in Glasgow's numbers - wasn't even a push - was a straight up hit and it was right near the ball. Have no idea how that goes uncalled. I was waiting for a flag and couldn't believe it didn't come out. Don't know if I've ever seen a more blatant one go unflagged. Have to protect the players out there.
November 29th, 2017 at 10:54 AM ^
I made my poor wife watch that replay about six times. I was so dumbfounded that it was not called - right in front of an official as the returner was coming through. OSU guy dove straight into Glasgow's back. Absolutely absurd.
November 28th, 2017 at 11:01 AM ^
November 28th, 2017 at 11:51 AM ^
Considering Delany has a documented history of improper influence and contact with officials AND sits in on B1G referee film meetings…I’m sure the results exactly reflect his desires. Delany needs to go.
November 28th, 2017 at 11:02 AM ^
And the older I get, the more I realize this ancient truism gets more valid, in all walks of life. As long as Michigan doesn't make a public stink about this, nothing will change. And the proper person to make that stink is Warde Manuel. Don Canham would have gone nuclear long before this.
November 28th, 2017 at 11:25 AM ^
I still can't say it's a clear-cut choice. I do think it's defensible to not raise a stink because there are real costs associated with doing so, but like I said... it's kind of a no-win situation either way.
November 28th, 2017 at 11:36 AM ^
I agree that UM can't be asserting that there is a conspiracy, but if in fact this apparent disparity in calls is statistically accurate, what U-M needs to do is send the appropriate video to the league office AND release the video to the media, with the statement that the BIG league office needs to address and explain the reasons for the disparity.
And if UM does so, it also needs to be prepared for the inevitable move by our conference opponents of documenting calls that didn't go their way when playing Michigan.
November 28th, 2017 at 11:47 AM ^
You're right but if Michigan does something like that, be ready to be the laughingstock of college football like Tennessee was able to do this week. I thought Tennessee was right (the fans I mean) but it doesn't change the fact that they lost some muster. The same would happen to Michigan by claiming officiating conspiracy or even if it was done professionally. The rest of the country would still be talking about the conspiracy theorist Michigan fans/program. It would not go well. Even if the numbers are astronomical in favor of U-M, nobody will care. They will just laugh and further perpetuate the soft country club Michigan perception that is already there.
It's better to do it quietly and win in spite. Get a chip on your shoulder and go out and achieve or overachieve.
November 28th, 2017 at 12:30 PM ^
Second time you have made this comment. Michigan is no laughing stock. The NCAA has tried religiously to thwart what Michigan does. They care not how Michigan leads only that they are kept from leading. This is not isolated to the amatuer officiating but also to the substandard facilities and the refusal to let coaches make the most of their opportunities with the team.
What does the Big 10 offer to Michigan? What does Michigan offer to the Big 10? At some point you realize that changes need to be made and you will find it amazing how quickly they can be made when money or the significant loss thereof is involved.
This board has rehashed times infinity how the NCAA is a joke. At what point does the conference and the NCAA no longer become a joke?
November 28th, 2017 at 1:34 PM ^
And for the SECOND time in this post I am saying we are on the same page/side. What I am saying is it doesn't matter what you think the Big Ten offers Michigan or what Michigan offers the Big Ten. We're not leaving the conference. ZERO chance. You and I will be dead and Michigan will still be in the Big Ten. There is likely to be superconferences and one of them will be......you guessed it....the Big Ten. And one of the teams in that conference will be......wait for it......Michigan.
Does Michigan belong in the SEC as in Southeastern? No.
Does Michigan belong in the Pac 12? No.
Is being an independent smart going forward for competing for titles? No.
Does Michigan belong in the Big 12? No.
Does Michigan belong in the ACC? No
If your answers to these questions are no, then you just might belong in the Big 10. You know, in the Midwest.
Don't tell me about tradition and how we're the winningest program of all-time and how we can't change uniforms or kickoff times and all these things we have talked about over the years and then come with the argument that the bad officiating is reason to throw all of it out the window to leave the conference that Michigan and Ohio State and a few other schools built. That is weak and it is dumb. If that happened yes Michigan would deserve to be a laughing stock.
If you don't like leadership, get rid of leadership. Don't run to a different part of the country to play second fiddle to Alabama or anyone else.
November 28th, 2017 at 1:55 PM ^
Sorry, we are not on the same page. Your comment presents the understanding that Michigan must remain in the Big 10. Michigan can do whatever it wants. The school is one of the finest academic institutions in the world. The football program transcends almost all of the NCAA let alone the Big 10. The Game pulled in ratings that surpasses NFL games. You need to admit that Michigan needs no one in the NCAA. The only tradition that our fans care about is The Game; Big 10 inclusion is way down the list.
"If you don't like leadership, get rid of leadership." The easiest way for leadership to be removed is for Michigan to threaten a move. Don't get me wrong, I would prefer the school find other avenues to accomplish goals but if the Big 10 gives Michigan the middle finger then Michigan can leave. The individuals who point and laugh because of what it "appears like" are the same one's that troll Michigan fans anyway. They are to be ignored. Michigan should always do what is the best interest of Michigan.
Michigan should not put up with substandard officiating in a league that is making money hand over fist off of its name. Michigan should not subject itself to substandard facilities in venenues that are drawing 10s of millions of dollars in TV revenue because of Michigan. Michigan should be able to practice whereever it wants as long as the students are acheiving in the classroom.
November 28th, 2017 at 3:54 PM ^
There are definite costs and risks associated with publicly crying foul, but at this point we don't have much more to lose. It has got to be done. Something has got to be done. Attention needs to be called to it. The conference needs to be embarrassed into action. It's the only thing that's going to work.
November 28th, 2017 at 11:31 AM ^
“I don't got no comment,” Gary said. “No comment on that. All I'm gonna say, when it comes to things like that, you've got to go to the film and watch play-by-play and see who's getting held. I'm gonna say there needs to be more flags thrown, but it's not my place.”
November 28th, 2017 at 11:40 AM ^
Given our blitzing and men children like Hurst, Gary and company rushiing the QB, THIS IS VERY TELLING. Ugh. Screw the B1G!!!
GO BLUE!
November 28th, 2017 at 11:53 AM ^
November 28th, 2017 at 12:05 PM ^
November 28th, 2017 at 12:49 PM ^
And when you add in the fact that both the league and every official it seems hates Jim Harbaugh with every fiber of their being we might also lose the 55-45 calls and maybe even the 60-40 calls as well.
Not sure though the B1G needed OSU in the championship game to make the final four. Our best hope for the conference is an undefeated Wisconsin team, not a two loss OSU team. So sending PSU instead of OSU makes that road easier - not harder - IMO.
November 28th, 2017 at 1:11 PM ^
We can hope that the officials are finished teaching Jim a lesson after he was very demure on the sideline this season. Hopefully next year we get more calls our way.