Let's make an epic list of UM getting screwed by refs and officials... I'll start
Desmond getting blatantly tripped in the end zone with a #1 ranking on the line.
http://umgoblue.com/Old/HTML/Football/90/90UMMSU.htm
Spartan Bob giving MSU an extra second to throw the game winning TD.
Referee John Gravelese whistling dead an OT goal by Michigan that would have sent them to the Frozen Four over Miami.
https://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/i-have-friend-who-hockey-east-referee
"Michigan coach Red Berenson said he was not given a reason why Lynch's goal did not stand.
"That's a tough one to swallow," Berenson said. "There's a loose puck in the crease and the referee blew the whistle because he was calling a penalty on them and yet, we had control - or were about to have control - of the puck."
The disallowed goal was just part of a dominating overtime performance when the Wolverines - who appeared gassed for much of the third period - outshot Miami 20-6. Besides Lynch's controversial disallowed goal, Rust hit the crossbar with a shot - all part of a collection of chances the Wolverines had to end the game and move on to their 24th Frozen Four appearance."
Trey Burke making the cleanest, most beautiful block of a layup in NCAA history but gets whistled for a foul during a critical, end-of-game situation.
www.sbnation.com/college-basketball/2013/4/9/4204318/final-four-2013-louisville-referee
The OSU-Michigan "Spot Game" and overall screw job in 2016 at the Shoe
Gene Steratore taking an incredible 4 minutes and 25 seconds of review time to say that there was "indisputable evidence" that Purdue hit the ball off Matthews hand to give the game to Purdue, and take away any chance a 33 win Michigan team had of winning a regular season B10 championship.
www.mlive.com/wolverines/2018/01/inside_the_final_seconds_of_mi.html
These are just the iconic memorable screw jobs. There are many atrocious moments that are forgotten because they occurred in the early stages of games where the outcome would boil down to plays and possessions much later in the game.
Plays like the phantom Higdon hold or the fake DPI against ND:
www.mlive.com/wolverines/2018/10/jim_harbaugh_big_ten_admitted_1.html
or the overturned Ronnie Bell catch:
These relatively insignificant bullshit calls against Michigan pre-populate in Google searches!
And will continue on. Look no further than last month when Juwan picked up his second technical foul of the season because he was fed up. This, following a two-game stretch where Michigan was on the other side of a FT attempt differential that totaled -27 (!) and 25 (!) in favor of Minnesota and Iowa respectively!
Of course that nothing compared to the -38 FT differential Michigan had to deal with vs. MSU in all 3 of its losses to them the year before. You know, the same year when referees Paul Szelc and Lewis Garrison ejected John Beilein for the first time in 4 decades because he raised two fingers at them for a blatant missed blocking call against Simpson at the end of first half of a game vs. PSU:
https://twitter.com/bigtennetwork/status/1095510426417274881?lang=en
It's fucked up people. Wake the fuck up.
The "common sense crowd" always makes themselves feel better (and you and I to some extent) by saying, "yeah but, we should have shot the ball better, and if the receivers wouldn't have dropped so many passes, and if Michigan would have just buried that breakaway..."
Screw that shit. B10 officials hate UM. And yes, it did start with Bo calling Delaney a crook. That grudge has been passed along for 4 decades now. And will carry on as long as Delaney appointees like Bill Carollo and Rick Boyages are able to hire and assign the same cancerous group of B10 officials to our games.
www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1990-08-16-9003080807-story.html
www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-01-12-sp-489-story.html
Only way to stop it is to unify as a fanbase and boo the hell out of the officials until everyone notices and starts talking about it. Sadly, the names of "John O'Neill" and "Dan Capron" and "Terry Wymer" and "DJ Carstensen" and "Paul Szelc" and "Lewis Garrison" don't resonate with 95% of our fans who'd like to believe there is no bias because referring is something they cannot control.
Boo and boo often. Get salty. Don't give a shit what the "Michigan fans are whiners" and "you gotta play above it" crowd has to say.
Please add to this list.
February 5th, 2020 at 12:29 AM ^
Oops. 3 decades of screw jobs. Feels like 4 though.
February 8th, 2020 at 7:05 PM ^
Interesting read...
Retiring B1G ref, Dan Capron -- the head ref of the UM-OSU game in 2016 - did an exit interview with the Chicago Tribune.
- Alludes to Harbaugh having the mindset of a 4th grader
- ...yet "He’s (Harbaugh) still not the worst coach."
- Obviously also hates Michigan fans."You know, you were talking about the Michigan fan base. Well, they’re pikers compared to the Georgia fan base. I was getting emails, texts. It was ugly, vile."
Has respect for Meyer, Dantonio, most others in B10.
Seems like confirmation to me that he wasn't ever going to be doing UM any favors.
February 9th, 2020 at 6:48 PM ^
Alludes to Harbaugh having the mindset of a 4th grader
That's bullshit. What he said is if you're 4 years old, he expects one to throw play cards in the air. If you're making $5MM/year to coach big time ball, he expects more.
Your SAT verbal score must have not been very good.
That Trib article is actually really good.
There's absolutely ZERO in there about that ref having it out for Michigan. His commentary of the fanbase? Right on. This fanbase, this thread included, fucking whines and cries about reffing non fucking stop. It's ridiculous.
February 9th, 2020 at 7:41 PM ^
Wow, Stig, that's an amazingly positive interpretation of Capron's comments. Hopefully others will read that article and come to their own conclusions.
I'm not saying that Capron cannot have an opinion about Harbaugh's sideline behavior being childish (he's human after all), but this is/was THE BIG 10's MARQUEE REFEREE. For him to 'dis on Harbaugh and Michigan fans in a published interview, in which the only other negative things he has to say are about Bo Pelini and the Georgia fan base, neither of which are current members of the B10, is wrong on so many levels. He can harbor those feelings all he wants but to come out and say it during an interview with the Chicago Tribune? It's bullshit. It should be embarrassing for Bill Carollo and the B10 office.
Michigan fans "whine and cry" (your words) about the refereeing because it is atrocious and affects the outcome of games. Self-righteous dicks like you enable it to continue by trying to make people who point it out look like the unhinged ones.
Capron notes in the article that the lead line judge in the OSU-Michigan game from 2016 was from the state of Michigan.
"The head linesman — from the state of Michigan, not that it matters — (assessed the penalty). …"
By him pointing that out, he is acknowledging he knows there a lot of people who are rightfully pissed about several of the other refs being from the state of Ohio. Perhaps you didn't see the articles that people dug up on those Ohio refs where they had professed to being OSU fans growing up. As anyone who has lived in Ohio can attest, almost the entire state is unified around the Buckeyes because they are the only collegiate show in town. In Michigan, it is quite divided, which means a ref from the state of Michigan might not have grown up a fan of UM. For example, the ref that called the phantom hold on Higdon vs. NW two seasons back was from Western Michigan, and did not grow up a Michigan fan.
Why complain? Why waste time on this shit? Because when our fans laid it on John O'Neill and his crew after the bogus DPI during the ND game this year, in a way I have never seen before, I believe it made a difference in the way they officiated the rest of the game. We didn't continue to get screwed like we have in the past.
For fans to want to believe they can make some small difference is not ridiculous. It's part of being a fan, like making noise at a game. If an official does not like a coach or a fan base, as much as I would love to believe that he can still remain impartial, again, they are just humans after all. If you deep down do not like someone or a group of people, you are more likely not to give them the benefit of the doubt in a game of inches (e.g. a DPI call, first down spot, etc.)
When you are a fan of a team that gets screwed over the course of multiple decades, sure you could choose just to become apathetic. Or maybe you could try to do something about it. If the latter, collectively acknowledging the problem seems like a logical first step. Once you're over that hurdle you gotta figure out what to do with it next. Booing the heck out of specific individuals that consistently screw your team might make them think twice when a nationwide audience is watching.
I don't give a flying fuck that you think I am a whiner. Just like you don't care that I think you are a giant douchebag for attempting to reprimand fans who have had their fill of shitty, biased B10 refereeing and are trying to do something about it. When we stop regularly seeing shit like this week's ridiculous F1 on Simpson that cost us the game against OSU or yesterday's 17-2 FT advantage in favor of MSU, I will stop trying to track it and call it out.
In the meantime, fuck you for trying to make people like me feel bad about doing so.
February 15th, 2020 at 2:14 PM ^
If you feel bad about something, isn’t that on you?
February 23rd, 2020 at 12:29 PM ^
You're pretty harsh on the Stig , but in your favor he clearly IS unloading on Harbaugh. I do not know how one can think otherwise. However it is a great article about other details
February 12th, 2020 at 12:15 PM ^
Dan Capron and the other two officials that did the 2016 game should not be running their mouths about anything. That game was a biased screwjob, 6 penalty yards on OSU called all game. Harbaugh had every right to lose his temper in that game. We can debate all day about how UM could have still won despite officiating but it does not change the fact that it was a biased game by those officials. None of them, especially Capron who was actually fired by the Big Ten prior for poor performance before being brought back should be running their mouths, they have no credibility.
February 5th, 2020 at 12:43 AM ^
- 2015 MSU had a few screw jobs. Joe Bolden gets ejected for targeting on a play in which an MSU o-lineman throws him into Connor Cook who's on the ground. Reviewed, upheld. On the infamous play, the long snapper is destroyed and no penalty is called.
- In the final seconds of 2011 Iowa, needing 8 points, Junior Hemingway makes an incredible catch in the back of the endzone and controls the ball all the way through even though it touches the ground. Ruled incomplete, loss.
- DPJ makes great td grab at Wisconsin in 2017, ruled incomplete for unknown reasons
February 5th, 2020 at 12:57 AM ^
Links to the articles or videos that jog one's memory do help...
Joe Bolden bullshit targeting (it's the very end of the play where they call Bolden #35 when Cook is on the ground, not Desmond Morgan, #3 when he comes over the top). Shocker that John O'Neill was officiating this pivotal 2015 game in the Jim Harbaugh era.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4f0U7xnkiQ
https://twitter.com/YahooSportsCFB/status/655483025040494592
Junior Hemingway catch (definitely a catch):
www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwa7WcRx_G4
DPJ catch ruled incomplete (it's close but left foot looks down):
February 5th, 2020 at 10:47 AM ^
That same Iowa game with us trying to score in the red zone at the end...every single one of our final 4 attempts to score featured blatant uncalled pass interference or holding on Iowa.
February 5th, 2020 at 7:43 PM ^
The phantom 3rd and long pass interference call in that UW game changed everything. UW was about to punt and give us great field position but went on to score and never trailed again.
February 5th, 2020 at 8:12 AM ^
Totally agree with this.
Also, UM should sue the BigTen.
Go Blue.
February 5th, 2020 at 9:03 AM ^
Remember the classic Charles White phantom TD. Should have been ruled UM fumble recovery; instead, it was ruled a USC TD.
ND QB phantom TD. (I think it was Carlyle Holiday, but I'm not sure about that) The ball was loose on the ground around the 2-yard line when Holiday went into the endzone.
From this past year's PSU game: Missed OPI that should have been called on PSU receiver on a play that went for a TD.
February 5th, 2020 at 2:21 PM ^
My freshman year my roommate had a poster of a wide shot that clearly shows the ball out before CW crossed the goal line.
February 6th, 2020 at 11:46 AM ^
I remember that ND phantom TD, replays show the ball was well short of the goal line but they gave them the TD and just ran into the lockerroom for halftime (was this pre-review?).
I remember Michigan played an awful, awful game that day but the final score was very close. They would've won if that play was called correctly.
February 7th, 2020 at 11:20 PM ^
The USC phantom TD had it's own display in Crisler when I was in school...10 years after that play happened.
It made this 2012 list of "15 worst officiating moments in sports history":
https://athlonsports.com/college-football/15-worst-officiating-moments-sports-history
February 8th, 2020 at 1:47 PM ^
My Charles Rogers Fumble Story:
After the game White made some BS statement that he saw the ref signal TD so he dropped the ball. Such a Trumpish statement incited me to write Charles White a polite but very critical letter on January 2, telling him that Heisman winners shouldn't embarrass themselves in that way. Supposed to be some class in that trophy.
So it's maybe January 10 or so and I'm sitting around at about 11 pm and the phone rings. "Hello?" "Collect call from Charles White". "What?!?!?!?!" "Collect call from a Charles White, will you accept the charges?". "That Charles White?!" (I hear in the background "Yeah that one"). "Sure, I'll accept charges".
So Charles White and I chatted for maybe 10 minutes or so. He said that he had received a bunch of letters, many of them profane or threatening, and that since only I apparently had the balls (or stupidity)to put my name and phone on the letter, he decided to call me (remember, this is the pre-internet era). His girlfriend was on another line, and she kept telling me how hard it is to be a national star. Charles eventually went that route too, telling me that people just don't understand the pressure, etc.
Early '80s and the Browns and Charles are playing the Lions. I hang around with the autograph seekers after the game and introduce myself-- he remembers the call very well and we have a brief chitchat.
And I haven't seen Charles since.
February 5th, 2020 at 12:37 PM ^
Warde should threaten to leave the Big Ten for the Big 12 or ACC if they don't get this crap fixed. The Big Ten needs us more than we need them.
February 5th, 2020 at 1:49 PM ^
Add the phantom holding call on the fake punt from the 1990 Rose Bowl game to the list. Bo's last game.
It sure does seem we get screwed more than any other team out there.
February 6th, 2020 at 12:49 PM ^
Um, you might want to check the replay on that one. Bo stated that he went ballistic because the referee signaled illegal procedure when he meant holding. Unfortunately, there was holding as shown in the replay. I am as bitter as anyone. The play was going to work anyway.
February 5th, 2020 at 2:20 PM ^
Trey Burke picking up bullshit calls early in the Championship Game and put him on the bench Trey was on fire that night and the refs broke one off in our ass
February 6th, 2020 at 11:05 AM ^
Eh. Just flip Trey's 1st Half stat line with Spike's.
February 6th, 2020 at 9:48 PM ^
The block was clean.
February 7th, 2020 at 11:24 PM ^
yes, the block was clean, but the officiating BS I recall most was that Hancock was fouling as much as hitting 3s but they were not getting called. There was one that would have been #4 or 5 but the refs named the wrong player.
February 6th, 2020 at 9:48 PM ^
And stuff.
February 5th, 2020 at 4:00 PM ^
Knock your socks off if it makes you feel better, but I'm sure every fan base of every team that ever existed could do the same. (Want to start a brawl at an English soccer pub? Holler "the hand of God.") Of course, they'd be wrong, but how do we know for sure? We're biased.
February 8th, 2020 at 9:33 PM ^
Exactly. It all evens out.
February 5th, 2020 at 4:31 PM ^
God almighty children. I cant believe this has been up now for several hours and the mother of all Michigan screw jobs hasn't been mentioned.
Ok let me tell you a story of when it all began. The year was 1979 and the PAC 10 officials who HATED Bo decided the 3 yard line was "close enough" for Charles White and signaled USC touchdown even though the ball was clearly out of his hands. Michigan would go on to lose by a touchdown in this game and extend Bo's frustration at the Rose Bowl much to the delight of the crooked officiating crew.
Guess which official was from the Big 10 and which one was from the PAC 10. Then guess which official won out on the ultimate decision
February 5th, 2020 at 7:57 PM ^
The holding call in Bo’s last Rose Bowl followed up by the unsportsmanlike was a monster fuck you to Bo and was pure corruption not a mistake. 1990 vs USC.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgOe3c-f7hk 1:56
February 5th, 2020 at 9:56 PM ^
was there. greg robinson (YTGR) told me before the game to watch that ref in particular, said he was a USC [expletive]. lo and behold, his words were prophetic.
February 6th, 2020 at 3:43 PM ^
It was shameful. No way for Bo to go out. I feel like we were going to be ranked #2 in the end with that win.
February 7th, 2020 at 1:03 AM ^
U have the story totally wrong. It was the big 10 refs who signaled TD while the pac 8 refs signaled Michigan ball. Why would pac refs hate Bo when it was the big ten refs who dealt with Bo for 8-10 games.
February 7th, 2020 at 12:33 PM ^
No I don't. Bo may have been an asshole but he was the Big 10s asshole and it was the PAC 10 official who screwed us over.
Just like they would again in his last Rose Bowl in 1990.
February 7th, 2020 at 5:56 PM ^
I beg to differ. I remember an interview with Bo where he clearly stated it was the Big Ten ref who made the erroneous call (I've killed too many brain cells since then but I think the refs name was Ledbetter or something close)
February 7th, 2020 at 5:56 PM ^
I beg to differ. I remember an interview with Bo where he clearly stated it was the Big Ten ref who made the erroneous call (I've killed too many brain cells since then but I think the refs name was Ledbetter or something close)
February 11th, 2020 at 12:55 AM ^
Yes, the refs hosed Michigan in that game, but Michigan had a lot of offensive miscues and dropped passes too.
QB Rick Leach was intercepted by USC's Ronnie Lott (SF 49er) and returned 33 yards to the Michigan 16. 3 plays later, USC 7, UM 0.
Leach was also later intercepted by USC LB Dennis Smith (ironically also a Flint, MI native).
These two teams fielded arguably the best scoring and rushing defenses in the nation. Michigan forced a turnover, held USC's offense to a total of 157 yards, and force a lot of 3 and outs.
USC QB Paul McDonald said that No. 5 Michigan's defense that day was the toughest and hardest hitting unit they had played against all year long against a murderer's row of college football opponents that included their win at then No. 1 Alabama earlier in the year, win vs. Michigan State (1978 Big Ten Co-Champ), their only loss at Arizona State, and huge wins over ranked opponents in succession Washington, UCLA and Notre Dame. On one play McDonald was knocked out briefly by Wolverine DE Tom Seabron. Beating 10-1 Michigan sealed the deal for No.3 USC to declare themselves national champions.
The real reason Michigan lost this game was not so much one shit call from the refs, USC's staunch defense or TB Charles White phantom TD.
Michigan lost primarily because of USC punter Marty King, who put Leach and Co. in shitty field position all game long with punts of 59, 53, 42, 48 yards. I don't think Michigan had a starting drive outside of its own 25 yard line the entire game. Special teams and turnovers won it for USC.
February 5th, 2020 at 7:37 PM ^
John O'Neil is a dirty cock sucker. The end.
February 5th, 2020 at 8:23 PM ^
I don’t have a problem with”the spot” it was close and the tip of the ball only had to touch the line to be a first down. There’s no definitive view on replay and the guy with the best view spotted it as a first down. I do have a problem with the officiating for the rest of the game. PI and holds all game long. If the game was called fairly, we probably win by 10 or more. If anything, the spot probably hurt our argument of being cheated because people see the replay and say you can’t really tell, Michigan fans are just salty but that was a good call compared to the other crap we had to deal with.
February 7th, 2020 at 5:58 AM ^
Just tp set the record straight on that one: It was OT and the drive started on the 25. The ref knew they had to get to the 15. He didn't spot the ball where he was down - the cocksucker ran straight to the tip of the 15 and placed the ball there - FIRST DOWN!
There were several other calls in that game that kept osu in it to even be able to get it to OT. These calls were way more egregiously corrupt than the spot.
February 5th, 2020 at 10:01 PM ^
How about we get over it and not go so far out of our ways to sound like whiny pricks?
February 7th, 2020 at 11:45 AM ^
If these were isolated events, I'd agree. There's a trend beyond normal variation in the way Michigan teams are officiated.
Things like this make you go hmmm:
https://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/b1g-offensive-holding-statistics-harbaugh-era-updated-play
February 5th, 2020 at 10:07 PM ^
How about the trifecta of PI calls (either that were called and shouldn't have been or were not called and should have been) in the first half of this year's Penn State game?
February 6th, 2020 at 8:21 AM ^
or to tell the B1G, FU and look at alternatives. Of course, M won't because of the $$$, which is all that matters.
February 6th, 2020 at 11:48 AM ^
Get some trash ready for this weekend's referees. That seemed to work in the ND game this year. I'm not for that kind of behavior generally but if that's what it takes for these clowns to do their job at a basic level of competence, then do it.
February 6th, 2020 at 12:56 PM ^
Replay every score was initially referred to as the Lloyd Carr rule. Michigan breaks the plane against ND and is pushed back for no score. NO REPLAY! Next play Michigan fumbles. Refs try a make up call and say he was down. REPLAY gives ball to ND. Next year, rule change, all scoring plays reviewed.
February 6th, 2020 at 9:44 PM ^
Nebraska vs. Michigan Alamo Bowl.
February 7th, 2020 at 1:00 PM ^
Oh my, seven blown calls for sure. 5-2 in Nebraska’s favor including no call on pass interference to win the game. Announcers were incredulous. Painful right to the end.
February 15th, 2020 at 10:46 PM ^
Announcers were incredulous doesn't do it justice. tOSU alum Kirk Herbstreit was openly ripping the officials during the third quarter, prior to the two biggest officiating errors of the game. To paraphrase Stanley Hudson, I would rather have had the game officiated by an upturned broom with a bucket for a head.
February 13th, 2020 at 12:13 PM ^
Yuuuuuup
February 6th, 2020 at 11:25 PM ^
Michigan really should consider leaving the B1G. The B1G needs Mich much more than Mich needs the B1G.
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