OU vs. Oregon

[tmh8286]

I wasn't planning to post this - I'm not particularly wanting to become the voice of the Sooners on the ORU board - but since it directly addresses your comments, VCB, I'll go ahead and post it, from the KRMG Radio web site:

"The following is from Big 12 Conference commissioner Kevin Weiberg in response to the letter received by Univerisity of Oklahoma president David Boren:

"I received the letter today that Oklahoma University president Dave Boren wrote to me and made public. Although I understand completely President Boren's displeasure regarding the outcome of Saturday's game, and have spoken to him directly about this matter, I feel it is critical that I respond to the requests that he made publicly of my office. Prior to receipt of President Boren's letter, I have been in contact with Pacific-10 Conference commissioner Tom Hansen beginning Saturday following the game. Commissioner Hansen has kept me informed of the Pac-10 process of review of these issues. It is his responsibility to handle the issues surrounding officiating performance for officials his office assigns to work games. The Pac-10 has a long-standing policy that does not permit officiating assignments by the opposing conference in non-conference games hosted by its member institutions. This policy is well known nationally and institutions, including OU, know this to be the case at the time of entering into contracts to play Pac-10 opponents. President Boren is a member of the Big 12 Board of Directors and through his participation on the Board has every opportunity to shape conference and national policy. I will see that the issues he has raised are placed on the appropriate conference and national agendas. It is disappointing that the instant replay review system did not work as intended in this game relative to the plays in question. Instant replay technology is designed to be an aide to officiating but it will not result in perfect officiating because of the potential of human error and/or technology failure. I will continue to work through the Collegiate Commissioners Association and the NCAA Football Rules Committee to seek improvement in the use of instant replay review which I continue to believe is good for the game. There is no provision under NCAA or conference rules for a game result to be reversed or changed as a result of officiating errors, nor do I believe there should be. Officiating decisions are part of the game just as are decisions of coaches and athletes, and determining what errors should result in overturning results would be chaotic. Throughout this process I have been in communication with OU athletics director Joe Castiglione. He has followed all appropriate conference guidelines for communicating concerns from this game and I appreciate his professionalism."

[ORUTerry]

It is silly to even contemplate reversing the outcome of the game. Boren wrote that letter to appease the OU fans. He knows it is an impossibility.... it was for show.

[praetorfenix86]

I'll be honest and flat-out say that I don't like OU, ever since they beat my Noles in the Orange Bowl in what, 2001 I think?

You took the words right out of my mouth MadAdder.  Beating FSU is an unpardonable sin in my book, and as an FSU fan, that has meant a lot more sinners in recent years.

[vcboy2000]

www.espn.com has an front page article on how Sooner Nation is collectively losing their minds over the bad call against Oregon. They have an article about how the replay referee is getting death threats against his life and the lives of his family members. The articles are really starting to make OU and it's fans look bad for how they are handling the whole situation.

[tmh8286]

That's a good article; to some degree he's got a point.  But I wonder, are there any programs in the country with national championship ambitions (regardless of how realistic they may be) that wouldn't react the same way?

[MrsSmith]

And in Oklahoma we are serious about football!

I heard the new Union football coach has really been tormented.  After the Jenks game he had 50 for sale signs put in his yard - I'd hate to know what happened after the Muskogee loss.

I kind of like what Boren did - he definitely made a lot of student friends.  He's done a great job at OU and I believe he truly cares about the school and the students. 

I heard Al Jerkens talking on the radio about some poll where people voted whether the game result should be thrown out.  Even though 60% said it should stand, that makes 40% of people nationally that actually thought it should be removed.  Of course Oklahoma voted 86% to throw it out.  Oregon the other way.    I don't know where he was seeing that poll.

[tmh8286]

Interesting post, MrsSmith.  This situation hits a little close to home in the Smith household, doesn't it?  Isn't one of the Smith children a Sooner?

[ORUTerry]

Boren was definitely playing to the crowd - like the politician he is. His statement was bit of an overreach and will result in a lot of people thinking that OU is starting to whine. It was a tipping point. Leave the athletic statements to the athletic director and stick to academics - and fleecing me for more tax dollars.

[vcboy2000]

Leave the athletic statements to the athletic director and stick to academics - and fleecing me for more tax dollars.

Amen! Amen!

[MrsSmith]

Interesting post, MrsSmith.  This situation hits a little close to home in the Smith household, doesn't it?  Isn't one of the Smith children a Sooner?

Well since you asked!  Yes he's a Sooner.  And he's part of a Christian fraternity that are the ones that dress crazy for the football games.  He's having a lot of fun (and studying some too).

We've become a bit more of Sooner fans, especially since ORU doesn't have football.

[Gold*]

That was about as egregious group of blunders by an officiating team as we may see all season.  You have to wonder what those guys were thinking about the job they did by Sunday morning.

Hey Gold*, I was at the game cheering on the Golden Hurricane Sat. night (but don't tell any of my ORU buddies) - were you there?  There was a really good crowd at the game.

I was there.  I thought it was kind of a boring game, to be honest.  The only thing that kept it interesting was how TU played "Madden rules" in the first half, going for it on just about every 4th down.  Kragthorpe is crazy!  (Actually, Stubbs is the evil genius behind the offense.)

I need to find a better football watching crowd.  The folks I go with want to do everything but watch the game.  Now that I'm almost an attorney, I also get hit up for a lot of free legal advice.  It's getting old.

I hope we play better against Navy than we did a couple of years ago.  That was a sad performance. 

On the subject of OU... the only thing I'd add is how ridiculous ESPN is acting.  On Sunday and Monday, they hardly touched the story.  As of today, they are running multiple stories and questioning why OU fans aren't over this yet.  Newsflash ESPN -- you are making the story at this point!  No one officially with OU has said anything since Tuesday at noon, when Stoops said they weren't talking about it.  If you folks at ESPN want to quit talking about it, shut your trap.

As for Boren... that was a PR move meant to get AP voters and coaches to remember to overlook that loss.  They are attempting to sneak into the title game if they run the table.  It's very similar to what Mack Brown did to get Texas in the Rose Bowl a couple of years ago.

[tmh8286]

Here's an interesting slant on this story - a rehashing of the last really big officiating blunder, sixteen years ago - the infamous Missouri/Colorado "Fifth Down" game.  The fallout sounds amazingly like that from last saturday's game:

Officials, replay back in unhappy spotlight 

Maybe someday Bob Stoops will be like Bob Stull.

Maybe someday Gordon Riese will be like J.C. Louderback.

For now, there is only bitterness and recrimination. Fear, even, surrounding Saturday's Oklahoma-Oregon game. Stoops, the Oklahoma coach, won't let go, continuing to spit poison at the Pac-10 three days later. Riese, 64, is in his Portland, Ore., home, his reputation in tatters, doubting whether he will ever be a replay official again.

Stull was the Missouri coach 16 years ago in the Fifth Down game, perhaps the most heinous officiating blunder until Saturday's series of unfortunate events in Eugene.

Louderback was the referee for the Big Eight crew that screwed up that day.

"I wasn't going to fret it the rest of my life," said Stull, now the athletic director at Texas-El Paso. "I've got a picture in my office. It's called 'Fifth and Goal.'"

"I knew I would go on," said Louderback, 72, now retired and living in Arkansas City, Kan.

They are familiar with what is happening this week. This is Oklahoma's Fifth Down. An unfortunate result etched in history. It's up to the principals how they handle it. So far it's been ugly.

Stull and Louderback kept their dignity, each carving out fine careers.

Read the rest of the article here.